Bring Back the Dead
by GirlCalledBob
Summary: Because I can't let people die, clearly. Catharsis-fic, L/OC eventually sorry-sorry don't hate me because I'm pathetic.
1. Act1, Chap1: Flashbacks of a Friendship

A/N: (and it's a long one...)

Okay.

This is what I have started to call a catharsis-fic; my favourite character just got killed off, and I'm kinda upset. So, instead of acting like an idiot, and after drying my few I'm-far-too-emotional tears, I decided there was only one thing an amateur writer could really do: Bring back the dead.

So, a few warnings.

We'll start with the disclaimer: So not mine. I mean it, it's not even funny how not mine this is. L, the cute little monkey, belongs to whoever it is who created him (I'm far to lazy to look it up, sorry, sorry). The others, which should be most of the cast of the anime by the time this thing is done, also do not belong to me. An, including her ridiculous name, really rather does belong to me, but I didn't think anyone would ever want her.

I don't own Death Note, is what I'm trying to say.

Okay, moving on to the real warning:  
Yes, An is an original character of mine. Yes, she's a bit of a self-insert as well (but trust me, I am not as calm or collected as her.) I don't _think_ she's a Mary-Sue, but she may very well be, and for that I am sorry. But: catharsis, which means this was written for me and NOT YOU! Hah. So, if you don't like it, keep that in mind: I'm not the first person to do an L/OC pairing, and I'd like to think mine works better than some (most?). And yes, she is so totally in love with the strange little detective, because, lets face it, that's just the kind of person she(I?) is(am?). It _was _intended to be one-sided, at which point I said to myself: why? It's my fic, I can do as I please. So there.

Now, this story addresses a few things that never made so much sense to me, mostly the fact that L was so excepting of the supernatural. So, here we go, he has a witch for a friend. Go me.

And… running out of things to say. So, here's how the story will go, just so you know:

Three acts, each with three chapters, of most likely varying lengths. The first act will be the shortest, middle one most likely the longest, and the last act might end up with only the two chapters if I can't draw it out enough.

Onwards then, friends. To the first chapter!

* * *

The first time anyone though that An might have a life beyond the home, was the day he died. Or, at least, that's how it seemed.

An was around twenty at the time, a young woman in the height of her prime, golden-brown hair, grey eyes and a sharp mind. She lived in a safe-house, a home for the unwanted… and that was fine. She looked after the others, an unofficial house leader… and that was fine, too.

Except, she didn't want to be there forever.

The day he died, she found him, carried him (not-so-surprisingly light), got him back to the safe house. She lay him carefully on her bed, and, forcing his mouth open as gently as she could, slipped a small, white pill down his throat.

"An, is there any real reason there's a dead man in your bedroom?" Jack, her friend, her partner in the business of running the safe-house, stuck his head around her door and asked her. She smiled.  
"He isn't dead. He took the possum potion." Came her reply, deceptively cheerful.  
"Right, then… who is he?"  
"He… is L."

* * *

_Four years ago, before the safe-house, An had become increasingly withdrawn from her surroundings. Living, at the time, in England, she involved herself in a criminal underworld that spread across the face of the planet__…__ one that had suddenly come into view of the police, Interpol, and, as such, the greatest detective in the world._

_At sixteen years old, she could not be charged as an adult. However, as an orphan living on her own, she could be questioned by police with parental consent. The room had been heavy and quiet the day she was brought in; she had noticed the computer in the corner, with its strange screen, but had said nothing of it._

"_You are Annabelle Lupus?__"  
_"_An. No, there__'__s only on __'__N__'__, dumbass.__"__ the last comment followed a short note of her preferred name, and was followed by a change of that note._"_An, then. You know why you__'__re here?__"_  
"_Because I got messed in with the wrong people, screwed around and used, and, when they figured a tiny witch girl wasn__'__t much use to them anymore, dumped as a scapegoat for the pigs to deal with? Yeah, I got all that.__"__ She spoke with traces of an odd sort of accent, made up from various places all around the world. Yet her file said she had been born and raised in Japan, with English parents, and moved to England at the age of eight to live with an uncle, now dead. So, she must have cultivated this accent herself, in order to throw doubt on just where it was she came from.__  
Interesting._  
"_You called yourself a witch__…__ what do you mean by that?__"_  
"_Oh, that. I__'__m not that practiced, but I got a talent. These guys, the ones you__'__re looking for, they found out, decided they__'__d like the supernatural on their side. But I guess you don__'__t believe in monsters under the bed, huh, detective?__"_  
"_I keep an open mind.__"__ The garbled voice from the computer made her jump._  
"_You could have warned me!__"__ She snapped, all of a sudden losing her affected slang. __"__I had no idea that there was someone sitting in on this. I don__'__t suppose I get the honour of your name, seeing as you take such trouble to hide away your face?__"_  
"_I am L.__"__ A small pause. __"__Does that mean anything to you?__"_  
"_No. Look, L, whoever you are I__'__m guessing it__'__s pretty big. I want to say something, you listening?__"_  
"_I am.__"_  
"_Those guys, they used me. I was in a place I don__'__t ever want to go back to, and they took advantage of that. That stings. Not to mention, I didn__'__t get told anything. I didn__'__t even know what was going on until that morning, on the news, and when I called them up on it, they hung me out. Used me, even when I wouldn__'__t cooperate any more. They thought I was stupid, and I didn__'__t do anything to set them straight, so they didn__'__t tell me anything__…__ but, they didn__'__t make much work of hiding things, either. I don__'__t know much, but I know enough to start finding out more, and I__'__ll tell you. All of it, every last drop.__"_  
"_And you want something from me?__"__ In a darkened room, a man got a little closer to the screen, as though this would somehow let him see her better._  
"_I want you to let me help. Like I said, I__'__m smarter than I look, and I want to make right what I did wrong. After we__'__re done, after they__'__re down, I__'__ll take anything you decide I deserve__…"_  
"_No.__"_  
"_What? Wait, but..__"  
_"_I will not be the source of your revenge, Annabelle Lupus.__"_  
"_It__'__s An.__"__ An grumbled. __"__And, why not? You might not _need_ my help but if you__'__ve any mind at all you must be able to see how useful it could be__…__ and this way, you get something for nothing! You don__'__t have to promise me anything, to get my cooperation.__"_  
"_What you are saying is, you wish to be used? Like you were before?__"_  
"_This is different from that! I _want_ to help you!__"__ An glared at the screen, hoping that the man on the other side was watching. He was. With interest._  
"_These supernatural abilities. Explain them to me.__"_

* * *

"After that, he said that he would let me help, on one condition… it's funny, but even though I started out holding all the cards, by the end of a fifteen minute conversation, he had me convinced he had already won. He said, I could help if I promised something, that if he ever called me, saying he needed a… unique ability on a case, I would help. No questions." She sighed, brushing a stray strand of hair from L's face without even noticing she'd done it. "And after a few cases, he started to trust me. It was three years before he let me see his face… and you can't imagine how much that trust means to me, how hard it must have been for him…" looking down at him, she let a small smile cross over her face. "but, you heard about his latest case, this Kira. I was scared for him. I went to help, even though he didn't call me - that's where I've been these past few months. Because… well, because he's my friend."

Jack nodded, putting a hand on her shoulder and sitting down on the edge of the bed, next to her.

"I understand."  
"He's… he's just so… I mean, he's smart, but he's kind, and sweet, and he doesn't always know how to deal with people but…"  
"You care about him."  
"Yeah. I just… this isn't right, him lying here. I've never seen him sleep… well, I have, but in his chair, not like this… and… I don't know." She reached out a nervous hand, but pulled away before her fingers reached the man lying on her bed. "He hates to be touched. Sometimes, when I haven't seen him for months on end, I want to greet him with a hug, but… I know he'd freeze up, or push me away, or… and I hate it, only now… I want more than anything else for him to look at me and tell me I'm sitting too close again, that it's bugging him…" she put her head in her hands, choking back a sob. "Jack, I don't know what to do!"  
"First things." Jack stood up, grabbing her hand and pulling him with her. "Tell Fern. You'll need a doctor to help you. I assume you gave him the antidote?"  
"First one as soon as I found him, second when I got him here."

"How long had he been out?" A new voice asked from the doorway, signalling the entrance of one Fern Walker, medical expert.  
"Uh, I'm not sure… maybe an hour?"  
"And until the second?"  
"Eight hours."

Fern looked thoughtful, running her fingers through long red hair.  
"You gave him a standard dose?"  
"A half, since he's so thin… and I know he doesn't eat all that well, so…"  
"Just one half dose?"  
"Yeah, he took it in his tea. I couldn't be there, but I told him to be careful."  
"Tea shouldn't have effected the mixture. We've used it that way before, with Lucy…" She hummed, thoughtfully, crossing the room with a no-nonsense stride and pushing An lightly out of the way, so she could stand by the bed. "He's very pale…"  
"That's normal." An replied quickly, her voice nervous. "Shouldn't the antidote have started to take effect…"  
"Yes, but we haven't tested it on a wide range of people. This could be a previously unknown side-effect… She reached down, checking the temperature of L's forehead, and feeling for his pulse on his wrist. An looked uncomfortable. "No recognisable pulse… the antidote hasn't kicked in… hmm, this is bad. An, you got another pill?"  
"No, Fern, you only gave me the two…"  
"Give me your hand."

An did so, nervously. Fern unfolded two of her friend's fingers, lightly pressing them against L's wrist, over where his pulse should be.  
"If you feel any change, anything at all, shout me instantly. Even if you aren't sure." She told her grey-eyed friend, who nodded, wrapping her free fingers around his wrist and closing her eyes. "I'll be back with another pill. An, he'll be alright. I promise. You got him this far."

Fern left the room, leaving Jack with a very worried looking An.  
"Gods, An." He muttered, pulling out the chair she kept next to her desk. "How in the hell did it come to this? The possum potion… you know how dangerous that can be…"  
"It started out as just a precaution…" She mumbled, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "We knew he would be in danger, of course, and he was so stubborn, but in the end, he let me help…"

"No change?"  
Fern came back in, a white pill in one hand and a glass of water in the other. The water she put down on the bedside table, and she handed the pill to An.  
"You make him take it, An. He trusts you."

An smiled, understanding the illogical statement, dropping her friend's wrist and repeating the same motions as earlier: gently prise open his lips, force the tiny capsule between them and down his throat.  
"I've never heard of anyone needing three doses…"  
"Me neither, An, but like I said… this 'possum potion', as you call it… only you, me, Jack and Lucy have actually ever used it. That's not a good test base, and anyway, I only needed one dose to come 'back to life'," She used finger quotes, making An smile. "While you weaklings always need two. And the times vary… I guess I need to fix that, but anyway. Someone will need to stay with him at all times. His body temperature shows that he is still alive, as does the fact rigor mortis has yet to set in… still, if he hasn't shown any signs of improvement in twelve hours, I'll give him another dose. I don't know who this guy is, An, but he's quite the hassle."  
"Huh, I guess something's never change. Anyway, you lie, you listened at the door. You know exactly who he is." An shot back, smiling.  
"True!" Fern grinned, sitting down on the floor. "Anyway, you were about to tell Jack…"

* * *

"_Am I not your friend, L?__"_

_She made sure that the playful tone in her voice was almost painfully obvious; he__'__d been known to miss a joke, before._  
"_Of course. But no one else knows of this, and so, I must not refer to you as my first friend.__"__ He picked up a chocolate, between his thumb and forefinger, and looked at it thoughtfully before popping it into his mouth, licking the fingers clean and looking at her over his shoulder. __"__I am sorry if you were offended__…"_  
"_Don__'__t be silly.__"__ She__'__d laughed, but not at him, and went to sit down next to him (but not too close, he hated that)._

"_You really think he__'__s Kira, don__'__t you?__"_  
"_Don__'__t you?__"__ He didn__'__t look up from his computer this time, so she knew it must be a silly question._  
"_I__'__m not as smart as you, L - I mean, Ryuzaki. That__'__s the name you__'__re using this time, right? Anyway, I__'__m not as smart as you, so I__'__m not sure__…__ sometimes it seems to fit, and other times I__'__m just confused__…"__ She grinned. __"__But, I know you must be right, in what you think. That__'__s my monkey, after all.__"_  
"_Yes, I must be__…__ An?__"_  
"_Yeah?__"_  
"_Do you think I might be wrong? I am not so sure of myself__…"__ He picked up another chocolate, but this one he didn__'__t eat._  
"_Well, I am. I__'__m dead sure of you. But worried.__"_  
"_Worried? About me?__"__ He pointed to himself with his free hand, a little smile on his face._  
"_Yes, stupid.__"__ She laughed again. __"__This Kira__…__ at first, I was sure you were safe, because not even I know your name - oh, and don__'__t worry, I don__'__t care about that, anymore. But now, with this second Kira__…__ They can kill, just by knowing someone__'__s face, and, Ryuzaki, I__'__m worried.__"_  
"_Don__'__t be.__"__ He ate the chocolate. __"__I am very careful, An.__"_  
"_Stupid.__"__ An pulled a face. __"__You are so stupid.__"  
He didn__'__t answer. She sighed._  
"_Let me help. I__'__m sure that this second Kira, they can know the name of someone from their face. I think that__'__s how they kill.__"_  
"_Really?__"__ He looked at her. __"__I had not considered that__…__ perhaps you are as smart as me, after all? But I think you must be right. This would make sense, from what we know about Kira__'__s powers, and from what you tell me is possible.__"_  
"_So, what if there was a way__…__ there__'__s a spell, a trick I can do, that make it so anyone trying to find out a name, and I mean by supernatural means, is tricked into thinking a wrong name, is the right one.__"_  
"_Really?__"__ He was staring back at the computer, which meant he was trying to ignore what she was saying._  
"_Yes. Let me help you, stupid. Let me change what your name shows as__…__ that way, I can stop worrying.__"_  
"_And if the second Kira sees this fake name, and tries to kill me? They will notice they have failed.__"__ He reached for another chocolate, only to find there weren__'__t any. An smiled and pulled a bag of homemade cookies out of her bag. (So that__'__s where my home baking kept getting to, Jack interrupted.)_  
"_Oh..__"__ She sighed. __"__I guess it was a bad plan__…"__ Her hand brushed against the packet of white power sewn into the lining of her bag. __"__Wait. The possum potion!__"_  
"_Possum__…"_  
"_Oh, you now that when someone plays like they__'__re dead, that__'__s called playing possum? A friend of mine made up this mix, it makes the person who takes it appear to be dead, until they take the antidote__…__ What if there was a way to tell when someone tried to work out your name, I__'__m sure I could set that up, and then you could take the powder__…__ it would be dangerous, but not as dangerous as being dead, and it might never happen__…"  
_

_Silence for a moment. Ryuzaki - L - took a cookie from the bag, holding it between his thumb and forefinger._  
"_Tell me how this possum potion works.__"_

_He bit into the cookie._

* * *

"I was so sure he'd never have to… but, I told him what to do. I said we could turn the white powder, the potion, into something that looked like a sugar cube - he has stupid amounts of sugar in his tea - and he could take it if he received a message from me saying the trip had gone off. Then he'd have ten seconds to fake his own death. He's always drinking tea, so it was a safe bet he'd have some with him… and anyway, he's been known to eat sugar cubes on their own." An finished with a smile. "I told him he'd rot his teeth, but will he listen?"

"Sounds like a smart guy." Jack said, grinning.  
"Yeah, like you would know." Fern prodded him in the foot. "I can't even work out why you live here!"  
"Financial support." Jack countered, kicking the younger woman lightly.  
"Hey!"

An sighed and smiled.

"Guys! No fighting in here, okay!" She chided, still smiling. The two stopped glaring at each other and looked at her.  
"An." Jack started, ignoring Fern, who was making faces at him. "There aren't any spare rooms."  
"He can stay in here. Makes more sense than moving him, and someone needs to watch him anyway." She decided, looking over her shoulder at the poor creature that used to be so proud.  
"I'll get some diet supplement pills. You'll have to make sure he takes them… or, what ever… every day, so his body doesn't degenerate from lack of food. Those ones you'll have to wash down with water, which is why I brought some up… plus, if he wakes up, his mouth will be painfully dry." Fern stated, switching to doctor mode. An merely nodded.  
"I think there's a spare mattress in the box room, An, and I'll get you some blankets. Fern can stay with him for a few minutes…" Jack got up from the chair, holding out a hand to the worried woman. "He'll be fine, An. He's the good guy, right?"  
She smiled weakly, then remembered something, and grinned.

"Yeah, he is. And he never loses."

* * *

An lay on the mattress, listening to the silence of the room. Nothing but her own breathing…

Unable to take it anymore, she sat up, looking over through the darkness towards the shape on her bed. He hadn't even started breathing yet, at least not that they could tell. Any close check would reveal signs of life, but…

She remembered finding him… God, she hoped she would never again…

"_L. The wire__'__s been tripped, someone knows your name!__"__ The tiny radio was one way, so her friend couldn__'__t respond to tell her he understood. She could only hope he__'__d heard, pulling out her phone and pressing three on he speed dial even as she shrugged on her coat. She__'__d have to find him to give him the antidote__…__ and soon._

_Speed dial three was Watari__'__s private number, the one only about four people knew, that could be reached at all hours of the day__…__ he even slept with it, apparently, because she__'__d called before in what must be the middle of the night for him, and had always, always received an answer before the third ring._

_Nothing._

"_Dammit!__"__ She swore, an odd occurrence for her. So, they__'__d killed Watari__…__ why hadn__'__t she thought of changing his name, too? L probably had thought of it, but then, he__'__d seen how tired she__'__d been the night after the spell__…__"__Dammit, L! You picked a hell of a time to care about me__…"__ She muttered, heading for his headquarters. She had clearance to enter, of course, but without good old Watari there, it would be dangerous__…__ still, for _him_, she__'__d walk through fire. This__…__ this was nothing, considering._

_Whoever had killed him, they might be close__…__ in fact, if L were right and Light was Kira, he would _certainly_ be close. She__'__d have to wait until they left his __'__body__'__ unguarded, or until there was only one, less competent guard__…__ and they mustn__'__t see her face, she hadn__'__t done the spell for herself yet. She__'__d have to, once this was done. But for now, she wrapped a thin scarf around the bottom half of her face, freeing her hair from it__'__s ponytail and brushing it over her eyes with her hands. That would have to do, she decided. Surely now she__'__d be safe enough._

_When she got to the headquarters, she used a few tricks (ones that Watari had taught her, one day when he was feeling talkative), to fast track herself through the security checks (Dammit, L, there is such as thing as being _too_ paranoid!). She__'__d never been so scared, not even when she__'__d been caught by the police, not when she__'__d been placed in immediate danger, not even when her parents had been dying and she was eight years old and totally helpless. Because now, she was twenty years old and still completely helpless and terrified, and someone else she loved was very likely to die if she didn__'__t get to him. No one had ever been more than a few hours without the antidote__…__ it had already been at least fifty minutes, maybe more__…_

_Stopping, she closed her eyes. Focus.. I need to find him. So, check the cameras, girl. You know where to go._

_Walking quickly, but not rushing in any other way, she headed towards the observation room, hoping to scan the images from the cameras hidden all over the building and locate her friend. There. And only one __'__guard__'__ with him. I guess they don__'__t want the body stolen, although god knows why anyone would__…_

_She bit back a snort as she realised that _she_ was about to __'__steal__'__ the body, or at least it would certainly seem that way. It felt cruel, to leave these poor people, Ryuzaki__'__s trusted comrades if not uneasy friends, so confused, but it couldn__'__t be helped._

_She knew she could do this._

A sudden sound interrupted her musing, and she jumped from the mattress, her breath catching in her throat. Even so, the sound of breathing, light and slightly ragged, still filled the room. The antidote was working… but…  
"Come on, L… wake up…" She whispered, nervously placing a hand on his shoulder. "Wake up and tell me to move my hand, come on." Nothing. He didn't move.

She almost cried for the first time in twelve years.

* * *

"So, you say the antidote's kicked in, but he won't wake up?" Fern had been banned from An's room, much to her annoyance. She was making up for it by prodding An with constant questions.  
"That's what I said. Middle of last night."  
"When?"  
An took a bite out of her breakfast toast. "'bout two in the morning. Is it important?"  
"Since you can't tell me the time he took the powder, not really. Still…"  
"Fern, don't ask me unimportant questions."  
A pause. "An, you alright?"  
"Just… tired. I'm beginning to sound a bit like him, right? Distant?"  
"For a moment there."  
"It's just… gods, Fern, this is killing me, it really is. He's so helpless…" She sighed, finishing her toast. She'd left Jack in the bedroom with L, but she wanted to get back to him…  
"An, don't spend all your time in the room with him." It was a stern, doctor's warning. "You'll end up just as weak as he is, and then who'll look after you?"  
"I know, I know. But, I can't leave him, Fern. What if he wakes up?"  
"Then Jack will call you…"  
"Not good enough." She sighed, head in hands. "Fern, I have to…"  
"I get it. You love him."  
"He's my friend!" An protested, but her doctor just smiled.  
"Whatever. Go on then, go back and sit in that room and listen to him breathe. Might even do you good."

* * *

_Knocking out that poor policeman - well, ex-policeman - without him seeing her face had be scarily easy. She wondered what L would have said__…__ not enough time to think about it, she told herself, pulling the first antidote pill out of her pocket. With any luck, he__'__d only need the one, but it was likely she__'__d have to give him another in a few hours time. The antidote taken, she lifted him up, smiling to herself at how light he was, and how thin__…__ he was like a child. Still, he was fairly tall, so she__'__d have a few problems trying to carry his lanky form__…__ no matter, she__'__d manage. She__'__d have to._

_Now__…__ to get out without getting seen._

_The second she was safe, back at the little apartment she__'__d rented while she was staying close-by for this case, she broke down into dry sobs, still not being able to cry. No improvement, so she__'__d guess the first antidote pill wasn__'__t going to be enough. Still, Fern said that between doses there should be a gap of at least eight hours, so she__'__d have to wait.  
And speaking of Fern, they were going to need a doctor. And there was only one doctor in this world she trusted._

"_Looks like we__'__re off to England, old friend.__"__ She muttered softly. __"__Not sure how I__'__ll pull that one off__…__ but, I know a guy who owes me a favour. He__'__ll get us there, won__'__t ask any questions__…"__ She brushed his hair away from his face. __"__Don__'__t worry, L. I__'__ll make sure you survive this. I promise.__"_

* * *

The next few days felt like forever. Jack would come in at seven in the morning to find her awake, and push her out of the room to gulp down a hasty breakfast before rushing back to L's side. At midday, someone would yell up the stairs that it was lunchtime, and when he'd finished his own food, Jack would come back up to push her downstairs again, to eat. She'd do so quickly, eating as little as she could without being told off, and bolt back to her bedroom. Dinner was the same. Between times she would sit or lie on the mattress, eyes closed and listening, or rest on the edge of the bed, trying to gather to courage to reach out a hand and fell his heart beating. At nine o'clock in the evening, she would hear the kids being herded up the stairs to sleep, and force herself to lay on the mattress, blanket pulled up to her chest, and try her hardest to sleep.

She never did, instead thinking about all the past cases… those bank jobs in Europe that had turned out to be the work of a ghost, the drug deal in Italy when she'd tracked an untraceable shipment using a bowl of ink, the important missing persons case that she'd participated in as bait. That was the one where she'd first seen his face, huge eyes looking out at her, searching her face for a reaction. She'd just smiled and nodded at him, greeted him, and asked why it was he'd called her.

"_Bait?__"_

"_Yes.__"__ He sat on his chair in an odd way, she noticed, like a monkey almost, and he wasn__'__t wearing any shoes, curling his toes into the cushion of the chair.. In his hand was the first of many cups of tea she would watch him drink. Six sugars. __"__It is too dangerous for any normal girl. I trust An to be more careful than most.__"_  
"_And you know I can look after myself, after what you saw in Russia. I don__'__t have to explain that, do I?__"_  
"_Not unless you want to.__"__ He took a sip of his tea. She felt like hitting him with the damn tea-cup. How could he be so calm?_  
"_Okay, fine. So, you need a young woman to be bait, you don__'__t want anyone to get hurt, and you think of me. Don__'__t see why, but okay, let__'__s run with that. You do realise that bait is normally pretty, right, L?__"  
He looked away from her, suddenly, and she realised he must be embarrassed. She laughed._  
"_Hey, okay, whatever, so you think I__'__m pretty. It__'__s no big deal, L. Right?__"__ She grinned at him. He took another sip of his tea, staring intently at his feet._  
"_Of course not.__"__ He told her, and she laughed again._  
"_So, you needed a pretty young woman to be bait, you didn__'__t want anyone to get hurt, and you thought of me. Not sure why, but fine__…__ lets run with that. What do I have to do?__"  
Recovering slightly from his embarrassment, L looked up at her. She found herself once again surprised by the strange innocence in his eyes._'_Gods, he__'__s cute__…'__ she thought, taking herself completely by surprise. She had no idea where that had come from__…__ and she wasn__'__t sure she liked it._  
"_Listen carefully, An. Do not make notes, but remember everything that I now say. I will not repeat myself.  
_

_She had listened intently as he outlined his plan, as clever as always. She hadn__'__t asked him why he felt the need to tell her this to her face, and let her see his. Later, she realised it was because he trusted her__…__ and he couldn__'__t think of any other way to prove it._

* * *

"An, it's almost been twelve months. A whole year." Jack put a sympathetic hand on his friend's shoulder, and she leaned against him, trying to hold back tears.  
"I know."

She hadn't left her bedroom in over three months now, forcing Jack to bring her meals up to her. These days, she was looking worse than L was; the long sleep had all but banished the dark circles around his eyes, and the diet pills Fern was giving him were clearly better than what he would normally eat; he'd gained a bit of weight, although he was still painfully thin, and there was a bit more colour in his skin. An, on the other hand, was almost as thin as he was, and looked like she was going to be sick, constantly. If this kept up, she'd die before he did.

"Don't you think you need to take a break, An? Go outside… Lily's in the garden planting flowers, you could help her, or just watch…" Jack pleaded, knowing exactly what she would say.  
"I can't."  
"An, I'm not saying you should give up. I'll sit with him, but… if he wakes up… when he wakes up, do you want him to see you like this? You look tired, and ill, and you smell slightly strange, An, because you haven't showered for eight months. If he cares about you at all, he's worry himself to death."  
An sighed, running a gentle hand down the side of L's face. She smiled weakly.  
"That's true. He hated it when I tried to match him. Used to tell me that I needed to sleep, the little hypocrite." She stood up on shaky legs, almost falling over from. "Wow. I'm worse than I thought… I'll go have a shower, Jack, but then I'm coming back."  
"No, go see Fern as well."  
"But -"  
"I'll tell her not to keep you too long, okay? But you need to see a doctor, An, I'm worried."  
"About me?" She smiled weakly.  
"Yeah. You stay here for a minute, I'll go talk to Fern. I'll be back to keep an eye on him before you know it."

Left alone in the room, An slumped back onto the bed, sitting beside her comatose friend.  
"Come on monkey… this isn't like you." She whispered softly, brushing a hand against his cheek again. She'd long since gotten over her fear of touching him… it comforted her, to feel the warmth of his skin, the proof he was alive. Once or twice, in the middle of the night, when she really couldn't sleep or think, she'd leaned her ear against his chest, listening to his heat beat. Just that simple sound made the world seem just a bit brighter; so long as she could hear it, he was alive, and there was hope.

In this past year, Kira had kept on killing. An had long since lost any hope about doing something about it; she was no genius, just a helpful witch, and she wouldn't even know where to start. Besides, it would feel wrong, somehow.  
So, she'd simply kept her head as high as she could; she'd cast the spell to hide her name, and done the same for her 'family' in the safe-house. If they were killed because of her, she'd never live with herself. And she'd waited, some might say in vain, for the one person who could help to wake up: her monkey.

"_So__…"_

_She was looking a little the worse for wear after her __'__bait__'__ job. Her hair was half-out of her ponytail, which she noticed, and quickly fixed__…__ but the rest wasn__'__t so easily cured.  
There was a long cut down her left arm, and her wrist was broken. Her nose, too, was broken and bloody, and she was walking with a slightly limp._  
"_Hey, don__'__t worry, I__'__m right handed__…"__ She joked, trying to ease the silent tension in the room. L was sitting opposite her, cup of tea in his hand, as always. There was a piece of cake on the table in front of him, but he wasn__'__t eating it. He just stared at her, not speaking._  
"_Hey, Monkey?__"__ She asked nervously, hoping to get him to speak by applying such a strange nickname. He did remind her of a monkey, after all._  
"…_monkey?__"__ He took a sip of the tea; a good sign._  
"_Yeah, that__'__s you, silly.__"__ She smiled her best goofy smile._  
"_I__'__m a__…__ monkey?__"__ He picked up the fork with his thumb and forefinger, poking the cake thoughtfully._  
"_No, stupid, you are not a monkey. You just remind me of one, sometimes... like the way you sit, or the fact you never wear shoes... by the way, what is with that?" She'd called him stupid a few times before… or a lot, and he'd never commented on it. Maybe he knew she didn't mean it._  
"_I don't like wearing shoes." He told her, breaking off a piece of the cake with his fork and eating it._  
"_I noticed. Look, L, I'm sorry I wasn't careful, like you told me. I was just helping, okay, and I knew I could handle it."_  
"_You could have been killed." Another bite of cake. His voice didn't betray the concern he was feeling, but she knew him well enough to know that his short replies and refusal to look her in the eye meant he was cross with her._  
"_I know that. Look, I'm old enough to make my own choices, little monkey." She put stress on the nickname, hoping to get a reaction._  
"_You are only nineteen." A sip of tea this time. His emotionless voice was beginning to annoy her, and once again she felt like hitting him with his own tea cup. That was happening a lot, these days._  
"_I'll be twenty in a week." She retorted, then wished she hadn't. He didn't know when her birthday was. _

_He was silent for a moment; he put down the cup of tea and absently rested his fork against his bottom lip._  
"_Really? You didn't tell me…"_  
"_Because I didn't want you to know." She replied crossly, folding her arms. He smiled at her, just a little; she almost fell of her chair in surprise, having never seen him smile before. It was… cute._  
"_Why didn't you want me to know?" He asked, taking another bite out of his cake. "Were you worried?"_  
"_It's just not a big deal, okay, L? I don't care about birthdays. To me it's just getting one year older, no cause for any celebration. Besides, why would I be worried, monkey?" She'd grinned at him. "I trust you. My birthday's in one week exactly, next Friday. Just… don't make a fuss."  
He had nodded, looking at his feet for a moment, scratching one foot with the other._

"_Now, monkey, don't you want to know what I risked my life trying to find out?"_  
"_Of course. Tell me everything you discovered, even if it seems unimportant." He replied, back to being himself. She smiled and nodded, and proceeded to tell him._

"An…?"

Jack's voice snapped her out of her memory, and she looked up at him, jumping to her feet like she'd been caught doing something wrong.  
"I was just thinking… remembering… he missed my birthday."  
"Last month?"  
"Yeah. I'm twenty-one, and he missed it." She sounded almost relieved. "To be honest, I'm sort of glad. He's so clueless about that sort of thing." She smiled. Jack nodded.  
"I'll stay here. You go, get clean, and stop Fern from worrying." He pushed her in the direction of the door, and she nodded, stopping to grab some clean clothes to change into after her shower.  
"You'll call me -"  
"Yes. Go."  
"Alright, alright!" She slammed the door behind her, and Jack heard the shower down the hall being turned on. He sat down in the chair by the desk and sighed.  
"I hope you know just what you've done to her. What she's been through for you…" he sighed again. "You had better be grateful."

* * *

Fern glared at her grey-eyed friend.  
"Look at you, An. You're like a ghost!" She snapped, forcing the other woman to sit down at the dining table. "This can't be healthy. Hey, sister!" She called for her older sister to come and help. "An needs something to eat. Preferably something I can shove down her throat if she refuses!"  
"You got it, Fern!"  
"No! Fern, I don't have time for this!" An protested, trying to stand… but in her weakened state, she was near helpless.  
"Doctor's orders, An. Don't object. The faster you do as I say, the faster you get back to him."  
"But-"  
"Annabelle Lupus! For once in your life, do as you are told!" Fern shouted, loud enough for everyone in the house to hear her. Upstairs, Jack sighed, rubbing his eyes. Then, he frowned. Wait, was that…?

"An! Get up here!"  
"But, Jack, she-"  
"NOW!"

An dashed up the stairs before Fern had a chance to stop her, entering her bedroom to find a very confused and nervous looking L sitting on her bed, backed into the corner.  
"An?" His voice was hoarse from lack of use, and the fact his mouth was dry.  
"Hey there, monkey." she muttered softly, resisting the urge to hug him. "Jack, can you leave us for a moment? I need to talk to my friend."  
Jack nodded, closing the door behind him, and An sat on the edge of the bed. She picked up the glass of water and held it out for her friend.  
"Here. You must be thirsty."  
He took it wordlessly, drinking only a little. She sighed.  
"L… please, this is not the time for mindless pride."  
Without looking at her, he drank back the entire glass quickly, pushing it back into her hand.  
"Your plan worked. Perhaps you are smarter than you thought." He told her, his hands shaking. She nodded.  
"Stay here. I mean it, L, don't move. I'll go get you something to eat… and a cup of tea, right?" She smiled at him. "I'm glad you're awake, L. I've missed you."  
"Missed me? How long-"  
"Sorry, monkey, but I don't think I'm allowed to tell you this soon after you waking up. Doctor's orders." An interrupted him, something she had never dared to do before. He nodded, chewing his thumbnail, a nervous habit. She nodded at him.  
"I'll be back as soon as I can, monkey. Just… stay there."  
"I won't go anywhere, An. I'll stay here."  
"Promise?"  
"I promise."

"Good." She decided, slipping off the bed onto her feet. "I'll go get you that tea. Six sugars, right?"  
"Yes."  
"Okay." She smiled once more, carefully closing the door as she left. She knew he must be worried by how weak she looked, but he'd never say a word about it. That was just the way he was.

* * *

"Fern…"  
"Jack told me. How is he?"  
"He's fine. Just the same as he always was. We got anything for him to eat?"  
"I'll sort something out, give me five minutes."  
"Okay. Hey, where does Jack keep the tea bags?"  
"An…"  
"Look, it'll comfort him. He needs that right now. Drinking tea is a habit, and I'm not about to make him go through withdrawal."  
"I wasn't going to say you should. But be careful."

An didn't answer, filling the kettle with water and flicking it on to boil.  
"An? Look, I know you care about him, but is this safe? Someone tried to kill him…"  
"I think he knows who Kira is." An sighed, stirring the tea thoughtfully, searching for the sugar bowl. She contemplated adding the sugar herself, but… "I don't want to ask him. If he knows, he'll tell me."  
"An, as your doctor, and by some twist of fate his, I'm telling you this: He needs time. At least take one day before letting him do anything stressful, to his body or his mind. You can tell him he's been out for a year, but don't let him worry about what has happened since then. And don't ask him about Kira."  
"Alright. Not yet." She fished out the tea bag and picked up the tea cup, taking the sugar bowl in her other hand. "Tomorrow I'll tell him it's been a year. Today, I won't tell him a thing. He won't like it, but there's nothing he can do."

"Right. I take it I'm still banned from your room?"  
"No, just… leave him alone."  
"Fine." Fern smiled. "I bring up something to eat, for the both of you, in a few minutes"

* * *

"There." She handed him the cup, placing the sugar bowl on the desk. He'd moved from the bed, sitting in the chair by her desk, in the same strange way he always did. It warmed her heart to see him there, hands resting on his knees, toes curled around the edge of the seat.  
"I am sorry. I know you told me not to move."  
"No, I get it." She replied softly. "I don't mind. Someone will be bring up some food in a minute, although knowing her it won't be anything at all nice… but, we have to eat it. As hopeless cases, we're at her mercy."  
"You too, An? You do look thin."  
"Oh, thanks." She laughed, sitting on the bed. "I haven't been eating well… or sleeping. Your fault, of course."  
"I am sorry." He picked up a sugar cube, dropping it in his tea, and for a moment nothing had changed. They were investigating some case, some where, and everything was how it should be. She shook her head.

"Why do you do that? You know I'm joking, so why do you keep saying sorry? Come on, monkey, I know I've always maintained that you're stupid, but you are not _that_ stupid."  
Another sugar cube, dropped into his cup. His back was to her, but she knew he had his finger pressed to his top lip, thinking.  
"I like it when you laugh. I thought that might make you laugh."  
She did laugh, making him look over his shoulder and smile at her.  
"Really? Okay, well… in that case, I forgive you. Heaven knows I always will."

"Having a heart to heart, An?" Fern poked her head around the door. "Sophie and me made soup. You _will_ eat it." She glared. "Both of you." She added, glancing over at L, who was carefully building a tower out of sugar cubes in an attempt to ignore her. She sighed, remembering her promise to leave him alone. An took the tray with the two bowls of soup on it.  
"Thanks, Fern." Barely hidden in her voice was an order to leave, and Fern scowled.  
"Oh calm down, An, I'm one of the good guys, remember? What, you trust me enough to fix your broken bones but you don't trust me to keep a secret? Thanks." She stormed out of the room, slamming the door so hard it knocked over L's sugar tower. He didn't react, instead calmly beginning to stack the cubes again. An smiled.

"Hey, L? You've got to eat this soup or Fern'll kill us both." She picked up one of the bowls, placing it on the desk in front of him and holding out a spoon. He took it, between his forefinger and thumb, as always. He looked down at the soup thoughtfully.  
"Thank you for saving me." He said, carefully taking a mouthful of soup. It wasn't bad. "It seems you were right to worry. I wasn't careful enough."  
An didn't respond, not feeling much like talking about his 'death'.  
"Kira is -"  
"Fern says I'm not to let you talk about that. Or think about it."  
"I see."

The two sat in silence for a few moments longer.  
"An. This is your bedroom."  
"How did you…?"  
"There is a mattress on the floor, indicating someone was sleeping in here, most likely you. The colour of the walls matches the knowledge I have of your personality, as does the decoration. And, your name is written on a label stuck to the side of your laptop." He pointed.  
"Brilliant. No wonder you're the greatest detective in the world." An muttered sarcastically. "Yeah, this is my room. We don't have any spare rooms at the moment, and since I took it upon myself to make sure you were okay, it made sense for you to be in here. I'll sleep on the sofa downstairs tonight."  
"Why?"  
"What do you mean, why? You really are stupid, huh? You'll need somewhere to sleep, and you're the guest."  
"I've been sleeping for a whole year. I don't need to sleep."  
"Don't tell me. Jack left a newspaper on the desk again?"  
"Yes. Jack is the man who was here earlier?"  
"Yeah, he's my friend. Don't worry, I trust him. As for sleeping arrangements…"  
"You will sleep in your bedroom. I will not be sleeping, there is too much to be done."  
"Well then, in that case, I won't sleep either. You've just woken up from a year-long coma, give yourself time to recover!" An finished her meal, dropping the spoon in her empty bowl. L ignored her. "Oh, come on. Don't ignore me just because I'm saying something you don't want to hear! L!" When he continued to ignore her, she stood up, walking over to stand next to him. "L…"  
"Will you sleep if I promise not to work?" He took another spoonful of soup.  
"…no, you have to try and sleep as well. I know you don't sleep properly very often, but…" She trailed off, knowing she wouldn't get a response. "Why are you so stubborn, L?" She asked him, flopping back down onto her bed. "Why can't I have friends that are easy to live with, eh? Why'd I get dumped with you and Jack and Fern and the rest of them? What crime did I commit?"  
L looked over at her.  
"Maybe we committed crimes to be stuck as friends with An?" He suggested, a small smile on his face. She smiled back at him. His jokes were getting better, if not any funnier.  
"Maybe. Am I really that bad?"  
"Certainly you are stubborn. But, I don't mind." He turned back to his soup, finishing the last mouthful despite the fact it was cold. "If I have committed some crime to be An's friend, then I am glad."  
"Shut up, stupid. You never committed any crimes and you know it." She sighed, watching him stacking up the sugar cubes again. He was, as always, completely focused on what he was doing. She almost jumped out of her skin when he spoke.

"If I stayed in here, would An sleep?"  
"Stayed in here?" She repeated stupidly, wondering if he had any idea how that sounded…  
"Yes. I wouldn't mind. I am sure this laptop has many interesting things to read…"  
"Yeah, just stay the hell away from my journal!" An snapped playfully, grinning.  
"You keep a diary?"  
"A journal, stupid. There's a difference."  
"… If you insist."  
"What does that mean?" She glared at him, knowing he'd long ago become immune to her angry stare. "Anyway, you can't stay in here while I'm sleeping."  
"Why not?" He picked up the sugar cube from the top of the tower, staring at it intently for a moment before popping it neatly in his mouth, licking his fingers.  
"L! Are you even a normal human being?!"

"Hey, what's with all the noise up here?" Jack pushed the door open, looking inside at the laughing An, and L, who had once again withdrawn to his own little world. "You two do realise you were speaking Japanese?"  
"We were?" An asked. "I hadn't noticed."  
"Well, you were, so I had no idea what it was you were yelling about, An. But, you're upsetting Rosie, so you'd better stop."  
"Oh. Right, tell her I'm sorry."

"She knows." A voice came creeping from out in the hallway, followed by a teenaged boy with blond hair. "Keep it quiet. Don't upset my angel. I don't care how happy you are, An, if you make her cry…"  
"I get it. Go away."  
The teenager scowled at her, starting to leave the room.  
"Hey, by the way. You're that L, right?" the boy grinned sharply. "I'm Andrew. I guess you can trust me, but I wouldn't count on it if you ever upset my Rosie. Thought I'd let you know." Andrew exited the room, heading back downstairs. L didn't respond in any way, refusing even to look up. With an apologetic glance, Jack left.

"Sorry about Andrew." An muttered, her happy mood deflated. It was frustrating, to have their conversation spoiled like that; he'd even been joking with her.  
"I don't mind. He wishes to protect his friend." L took a sip of his tea. "I understand that, since I feel the same."  
"Hey, isn't that tea cold?" An refused to answer the strange comment.  
"Very." Another sip.  
"Then don't drink it, stupid!" An lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Okay. I'll try and get some rest, if you stay there. But, I'm turning off the internet, so you _can__'__t_ do any investigating. Do we have a deal?"  
"We have a deal."  
"Right then." She stood up, opening her door and shouting down the stairs. "Hey, Jack? Turn of the 'net access for me?"  
Hearing a positive reply, she closed the door again, crossing the room to her desk and opening the laptop, turning it on with a flick of a switch.

"Try to work out my password, monkey?" She challenged, as the password screen came up. After a few seconds, L typed something in. The screen signalled an acceptance of the password and An grinned. "'Swordfish'. You know me too well, I guess."  
Walking back to her bed and flopping down on her back, she sighed deeply, then pulled the covers over herself.  
"I mean it when I say don't read my diary."  
"… I thought it was a journal."

An threw a pillow at him, which was easily dodged. There was silence for a few moments.

"L, can I have my pillow back?"

* * *

A/N:  
So, what do we think? I do have more written, but not a whole chapter, unfortunately. The plot bunnies have decided to take a long walk off somewhere; so, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up. Sorry! sweatdrop

In any case, that was a few flashbacks from a friendship. I'd love feedback, anything and everything you might have to say. Even just a few words would make my day (and help me drag back the bunnies, those evil, evil plot bunnies that have left me all alone…)

For anyone who doesn't get An's password:  
'The password is always Swordfish' is a trope. It refers to the fact that a password is often very, very easy to guess; or, it could simply refer to the fact that the password is _always_ swordfish. In An's case, it's the latter.


	2. Act1, Chap2: Recovery

Disclaimer: (today's guest disclaimer reader: An.)  
Pyre does not own Death Note. She does own, however the _ten_ OCs, including me. Eleven counting the dog, who will never get mentioned again. Ten, Pyre? Really? Was that needed?

A/N:

It's just a short chapter, but at least I wrote it.

Contains:  
A midnight giggling fit.  
A full round of introductions (kinda)  
Gardening  
And a bit of an argument, followed by a severe upstaging by Fern.

Enjoy

* * *

She wasn't sleeping well.

The breathing that had kept her awake for so many nights was now joined by random clicks as L read through some of the files on her laptop. She'd secured her journal and any sensitive files behind her a much stronger password than the laptop itself; he could probably guess it, if he tried, but she trusted him not to. For the moment, he was likely reading the various files about the safe-house's occupants. Not the detailed files, of course, with the information of their… talents, but the general ones. Every so often there was a little clink as he broke of another piece of cake with his fork; sometime in the early evening Jack had come up with some homemade cake for the pair of them, but An had sacrificed her piece to the sugar-addict sitting at her desk, under the disguise of not being hungry.  
Mumbling crossly to herself, she turned to face the wall, as if that would help. The clicking stopped.

Curious, she turned back to face him, only to find him watching her closely.  
"What?"  
"Are you upset because I'm eating your cake?" he asked her seriously, making her burst out laughing.  
"What? No, of course not, I told you to take it." She managed to choke out between gasps of laughter, biting down of the side of her hand to help keep the giggles under control.  
By the time she'd managed to stop laughing, there were tears running down her face, and she grinned.  
"Honestly, L, you are silly sometimes." She told him, forcing herself to keep a straight face.

He looked thoughtful for a moment, then picked up the plate with the food on it and held it out to her.  
"Really, L, you eat it."  
"No. It should have been yours. Call it a birthday present." He tapped his fork against his bottom lip absently, making her smile.  
Making her choice, she nodded, taking the plate.  
"You remembered my birthday." Sitting up so as not to get crumbs in her bed, she picked up the cake and took a bite. "I'm twenty one, now. An adult in every sense of the word, so you can't treat me like a kid anymore." She told him through a mouthful of cake. He nodded and went back to what he was reading. She finished the cake and went back to trying to sleep.

It had only been a few more minutes of tossing and turning before L spoke up again.  
"Why can't you sleep, An? Is something wrong?"  
"Hmm? Oh, no, not really. I just…" she yawned. "Well, I guess I can't say I'm not tired. I'm just so used to staying awake now, I guess. I was really worried."  
"Worried about me…" He trailed into silence, and she could almost hear him thinking. There was a soft rustle as he stood up, sitting down on the bed next to her, drawing his legs up against his chest as always.  
She was facing away from him, but looked over her shoulder. He smiled ever so slightly at her, holding out a wrist. She frowned.

"You can check I am still alive." He told her, taking her hand and wrapping her fingers around his wrist. She closed her eyes, focusing on his pulse. "An. You don't have to worry. So please, sleep. Or I'll worry about An."  
"You worry about me?" She asked sleepily, but received no answer.

When he was sure she was asleep, L gently removed her hand from his wrist and went back to reading the files without so much as a backward glance. But then, that was just the way he is.

* * *

An woke up the next morning to the sound of clicking. Oh, yeah.  
"Did you actually get any sleep, little monkey?"  
When she received no answer she looked over her shoulder at him. He was playing solitaire on her laptop, and drinking a cup of tea. She sighed at him.  
"Hey, L? I'm talking to you. You planning on answering?"  
"I'm concentrating."  
"On solitaire? How hard can it be?"  
"Not hard." He took a sip of his tea, playing another card. She sighed again, forcing herself to sit up and pushing away the covers.  
"You were up all night, weren't you? Reading my computer files, no doubt. I hope I was right to trust you not to guess the password?"  
He looked over his shoulder at her, told her the password, and went back to his game. She scowled.  
"I didn't use it. I just guessed." An wasn't sure she truly believed it, but, she did trust him.  
"I suppose if anyone was gonna guess it'd be you, huh?" She sighed again, leaning back against the wall. "How do you feel?"  
"I'm fine, An. Please don't worry."  
"I wasn't worried, just asking, monkey."

There was silence, broken only by the odd click as L played his game of solitaire.  
"How is An, this morning?" He asked suddenly, making her jump and bang her head against the wall.  
"Ow. Uh, worse for you asking, thanks. Can't you give a person warning when your about to speak? Like, turn to face me or something?" She rubbed the back of her head.

"Hey!" Jack shouted up the stairs. "You two awake? There's a report on the TV, something about Kira!"

An jumped up from the bed, met at the door by L, who was standing slumped with his hands in his pockets. She nodded at him.  
"I really did miss you." She told him, opening the door and heading down the stairs, followed by her friend.

The living area was large and vaguely disjointed. A TV stood against one wall, surrounded by a little half-circle of comfy chairs in various styles, ages and colours, and one very tatty sofa. An managed to vault over the back of a large, faded armchair that looked like it was once bright green, watching the TV with interest. L stopped in the doorway, leaning against the frame, loathe to enter the room with it's bunch of misfit occupants.

"We have received a report that, despite the attempts made to conceal the identities of criminals around the world, Kira has continued his judgement seemingly unopposed. With the death toll rapidly climbing, there seems to be no stopping this brutal -"  
The report was cut off to loud protests, An holding the remote so tight in her hand it looked like it might break.  
"You told them. You told them not to hide the identities of criminals, that it would only make it worse!" She threw the remote control across the room, wincing as it hit the wall and clattered to the floor. Everyone in the room looked at her, like she'd grown a second head.

There were eight people in the room, besides An. Jack was sitting on the floor, a large dog curled in his lap, directly in front of the battered sofa. On the sofa itself were two children, maybe eight or nine in age, each leaning against one arm, their feet meeting in the middle; a boy and a girl, clearly twins, with short black hair, plain clothes and heavy, Russian features. To their right was a red chair, fairly new, which dwarfed the tiny, ginger-haired girl sitting in it, or rather, hanging from it, upside down with her pigtails brushing the floor. To the left of the twins was An, and to her left was a black-haired young woman wearing glasses and covered in oil. Across from her, next to the upside-down girl, was Fern.

The two remaining people were sitting in the corner of the room furthest from the TV, one of them hidden by the other; the one still in sight was the blond haired boy, Andrew, who was glaring, not at An, who was hidden from him by the back of her chair, but at L, who was still standing in the door, staring intently at his bare feet.

"An… why'd you shout?" The tiny girl asked, still upside down. "Does this have something to do with the dead guy?"  
An laughed, a strangely out of place sound in the tense atmosphere of the room. Still staring at his feet, hands shoved in his pockets, L smiled to himself.

"Lily, he's not dead! Where do you get these ideas?"  
"I dunno." Lily rolled off the chair, flopping down on the floor next to Jack and scratching the dog's ears. "He looked pretty dead. I ain't no expert."  
"English, Lily. You are not an expert." The black haired woman rubbed at a spot of oil on her arm, smiling.  
"That's what I said, _mother_!" Lily shot back. An climbed back over the back of her chair, crossing the room to stand next to L as the 'family' descended into playful bickering.

"You read all my computer files?"  
"Yes, I did. The tiny girl is Lily Bates, six years old, adopted daughter of Lucy Anne Bates, the one with black hair."  
"Right. Lily's a witch-in-training, and Lucy's the one who taught me how to fight. She's possessed, by a demon."  
If her quiet friend was surprised, he didn't show it.  
"You read my private files, huh?"  
"But not your diary."  
"Journal." She shot back, having to fight back a sudden urge to brush the hair away from his eyes.  
"Of course. The twins are Coreen and Joseph Solvac, nine years old. They have the ability to see ghosts."  
"I'd be more impressed if you hadn't admitted to reading my files. But go on."  
"In the corner must be Rosie Dawn, yes?"  
"Hiding behind Andrew, as normal."  
"Because she cannot see into his mind. I will have to careful of her, to keep her from seeing what I do not want her to see."  
"She won't be able to see your name, I don't think. Although… she is a far more powerful psychic than the spell was designed to protect against…"  
"This is true. If there is even the smallest chance, I must protect against it. But An… why does Andrew dislike me?"  
"Oh, him? He's a real brat, doesn't care for anyone except his little angel, Rosie. Don't take it to heart, little monkey, his opinion counts for next to nothing these days." She sighed. "He's changed, a lot, since he first got here. To begin with, we were so happy that Rosie would have someone to talk to. But, he was kind, back then, and something, or someone, has twisted him. I don't know that I trust him with Rosie, any more, but she won't let go."  
"I see. Perhaps I will be able to help with this…"  
"If you could I'd be grateful, L, but you don't have to. Come on, we'll go get some breakfast."

* * *

"Right, that's it!" Fern slammed the door of An's bedroom open, sending L's sugar cube tower toppling to the ground. He didn't react, as always, carefully gathering up the fallen sweetener. "Hey, listen to me for a moment." Fern persisted. An, sitting on her bed and reading a book, sighed deeply.  
"We're both listening, Fern. What?"  
"You two -" She glared at L. "Are as pale as death, and as a doctor I don't like it one bit. Lily is outside, gardening. Now, don't think I don't know I'll never get you two to help her, but will you at least sit in the damn sunshine for once?"

An put down her book, glancing over at the detective, who was trying to build his sugar tower up again, only to be foiled by Fern, who was banging on the wall childishly every time he got further than the fourth cube.  
"Fine."  
"What?" Both woman asked almost at the same moment, Fern forgetting her childish game, allowing L to finish his tower.  
"I will go outside." L repeated calmly, knocking over the tower himself and choosing a few cubes to add to his tea. "I have not seen the sun in some time; it will be good for me, I think." He took a sip of the tea, looked at it thoughtfully, and added another sugar cube.  
"Uh…" Fern was lost for words. "Well, okay then. An?"  
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'll go sit outside, whatever." She slipped off the bed, grabbing her book to take it with her. "Hey, did I smell Jack's cooking a few hours ago?"  
"Yeah, he made cookies." Fern smiled. "I'll ask Sophie to put some outside for you. You haven't met her yet, have you, L?"  
"Sophie Walker, aged 28. Blind from birth, she can see the deaths of those she meets for the first time. Your older sister, Fern." L finished stirring the sugar into his tea and took a sip. "I have not met her."  
"Must you do that?" Fern was suddenly feeling quite cross again.  
"Do what?"  
"Recite things. It's like you don't have a real human brain, just some weird computer than exists on sugar and tea." She paused, realising she sounded stupid. "And recites things." She finished lamely, shaking her head and leaving the room.

An sighed softly.  
"Did I upset her?" L wanted to know, climbing gracefully off of the chair, teacup in hand. His free hand made it's way to his pocket without any real thought.  
"No, she's just… oh, Fern's not a big fan of people like you, that's all, monkey. Come on, you don't want to miss Lily's extreme hole digging now, do you?" She flashed a small smile at him, slipping out of the room and downstairs, her intelligent friend following close behind her.

* * *

The garden to the safe-house was actually rather nice; Lily was apparently a fairly competent gardener, although seeing the six year old wandering around, little shovel in hand, you might not think it. On the paved patio there was a battered set of garden furniture, four chairs and a dirty white plastic table; L quickly made his way over to one of the chairs and climbed up onto it, toes curling around the seat, legs drawn up to his chest. An laughed, pulling a second chair up next to him and settling down to read her book.

After a few moments there was a light tapping, causing the ever attentive detective to look over his shoulder. A woman in her late twenties came out into the garden, holding a plate of cookies in one hand and a white stick in the other.  
"An, you out here?"  
"Oh! Sophie, hi." An jumped from her seat to help the blind woman to the table, where they placed the plate of cookies. "L, this is… well, you know."  
"Sophie Walker." L looked away from her, chewing his thumbnail. "It is a pleasure to meet you." He muttered in a monotone, making An scowl.  
"Don't mind him, Sophie."

Sophie didn't seem to be listening, however, a frown on her face. An nodded sympathetically.  
"Seeing an ending, Soph?" She asked. Sophie didn't like to speak about deaths.  
"… yes. I, uh… I need to go inside." She muttered, leaving the garden with shaking steps. An frowned, going back to her chair and grabbing a cookie. She went back to her book, occasionally sneaking glances at L, who was now watching Lily thoughtfully, still chewing his thumb.

The six-year old in question was planting bedding plants, little blue and white flowers that someone had bought on sale at the greengrocers. Every so often she would hum tunelessly to herself, the sort of silly little song a child likes to hum. She hadn't seemed to have noticed she was being watched, until she happened to look over towards the house for some little reason. She grinned and waved at L, who didn't respond, and stomped one foot playfully.  
"Why're you watching me?" She called, faking anger. "Did _you_ wanna garden too?" When he didn't reply, she dug another little hole, shoving the plant in it haphazardly. "See? It's easy, mister! Nothing to it!" She clambered to muddy feet, brushing mud off from her hands and onto her pink tee-shirt, wandering over to the paved area and looking up at L with interest.  
"You're weird." She declared. An looked over the top of her book at the exchanged, and smiled.  
"I am?" L was almost surprised by the assertion. He wasn't used to tiny, ginger haired, green eyed six year old girls telling him he was weird.  
"Yeah…" Lily trailed off slightly sadly, then perked up. "But, it's okay because we're all weird, here. We're _special_. Even me! I'm Lily Bates, which is my name and also what people call me." She smiled. "What is _your_ name_, _mister?"  
L carefully removed his thumb from his mouth.  
"I don't have a name."  
"Huh?" She blinked, confused. "But, then, what do people call you?"  
"L." L climbed out of the chair, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Would you like me to help you with the gardening? I don't mind."  
"Okay!" Lily tugged one of his hands from it's pocket and dragged him over to the flower bed. An watched, with a slight frown, as Lily handed L a flower and dug a hole for him to put it in, chattering away the whole time. The frown on An's face quickly turned into a little smile, shaking her head. Now she really had seen everything, she told herself, watching her strange, logical, intelligent friend carefully place a white flower into a badly dug hole, patting the earth down around the little plant. Lily looked pleased.  
"Well done!" She chirped, picking up another plant, a blue one this time. L stood up and shook his head slightly.  
"I believe I will leave the rest in your capable hands, Lily-chan." He told her softly, heading back over to the patio with his normal shuffling gait, climbing up onto the chair next to An. She put her book down.

"You didn't have to, you know."  
L didn't answer, reaching out on hand to take a cookie from the plate on the table. An batted his hand away. "Don't, you've got dirt on your fingers. You didn't have to help her garden."  
The young man brushed the dirt from his fingers onto his jeans, and took a cookie, taking a small, thoughtful bite.  
"I wanted to."

* * *

A few days later, and An was definitely seeing signs of frustration in her friend. He was spending more and more time deep in thought and less time actually talking to her, joking with her in that strange, half-serious, half-confused manner. He'd started to refuse to eat the meals Fern kept trying to force on them both, going back to his old, habitual diet of tea and cake. The black rings under his eyes had come back, which wasn't surprising considering he hadn't slept since he'd woken from his coma. She knew him just about well enough for it to point to one thing: something was worrying him.

They were both sitting in her bedroom, as always; anywhere else and they were surrounded by shouts and games and angry glares from Andrew. An was sitting on her bed, book in hand; she wasn't reading it. At her desk, with his back to her, staring into space, was L. He was just sitting there, glaring at the wall blankly. She wondered what he was thinking…

"Light Yagami is Kira, An. I was right." She could hear the sound of him chewing his thumb, and almost sighed in relief.  
"Of course you were, monkey. Is that what's bothering you, that you were right?"  
"No." He admitted, still refusing to look at her.  
"Then, what…?" She trailed off, not sure what to say. She hadn't seen him like this, before; not even when he'd been depressed and all she could do was watch and hope; this was worse. "Please just tell me, L." She sighed heavily. "I'm worried."

With a tiny sigh, L looked over his shoulder at her.  
"Watari is dead." He told her simply, and she closed her eyes, forcing herself to look away.  
"I know. I saw. I…" She swallowed nervously. "I could have saved him and I'm sorry."  
"I'm not angry, An. Rather, I am, and at myself." He turned back to the desk, and his ever present bowl of sugar cubes, picking one up carefully. "It did occur to me that Watari would be in danger. However, the spell you preformed to protect my life appeared to be quite draining on you, and there was only a slight chance that he would be targeted." He popped the sugar cube in his mouth neatly. "It was a risk I know now I should not have taken."  
"Hindsight is a beautiful thing, I guess." An commented dryly, making him smile slightly to himself.  
"It is indeed. An, I have told you often not to worry about me."  
"It's hard not to, stupid. We're friends, remember?"  
"I remember." They sat in silence for a moment, the only sound a small crunch of sugar cubes being eaten, one by one. It was a comfortable silence, however, and An felt strangely relived. She slipped off the bed and stood next to him, picking up a sugar cube herself, holding it in the palm of her hand and looking at it.

"It's funny."  
"It is?"  
"Yeah, it's… I never even thought about what happens next. I just knew…" She tossed the cube up, catching it expertly in her mouth and sucking it triumphantly. "Well, you know. Some people are worth protecting. I wish that I'd thought about Watari, so I could have saved him, but I didn't. And I'm sort of wondering what that means. "  
"It means nothing, An. You assumed, as I did, he would be in no great danger. We were both wrong."

"Hey, no, L. You're never wrong!" An told him sharply. "You start saying things like that you'll destroy one of the certainties in my world!" She smiled, looking down at him to make sure he knew she was joking. "We have to go after Kira, don't we? There's isn't any choice."

"No." L looked at her. "You are no longer a part of this, and I will not put in danger."  
"Too late, monkey, I'm not letting you do this alone!" An folded her arms, sitting down on the mattress they hadn't yet moved from the floor. "We'll go together. We'll stop this."

"What makes you think you two are going anywhere?" Fern was standing in the doorway, arms cross, leaning on one wall.  
"We aren't. An will stay here, safe, while I-"  
"If you finish that sentence, L, I'll kill you myself." An snapped, shocking her friend into silence. "You can't lose, I accept that; you have to go after Kira, you have to beat him, and I accept that too. What I do _not_ accept is that you do it alone." She couldn't force herself to look at him, lying back on the mattress and staring at the ceiling. "That's why, I'm not leaving you alone. I'm not letting you fight this alone, not anymore. Not ever again, L, that's what got you killed."

"I see."  
"What?" An snapped, feeling childish.  
"You blame yourself for the danger that I was in. You blame yourself for the fact I was comatose for a year. You believe that if I had allowed you to help me more fully, it would not have come to this?"  
She kicked the chair he was sitting on crossly.  
"You know something, L?" It was Fern who spoke, surprising both of the others. "You're wrong."  
"There is a high probability…"  
"And that's why you're wrong. Something is happening here that can't be quantified. She," She pointed at her golden-haired friend, "Is _worried_ about you. Because she _cares_ about you. And there is nothing logical or understandable about that. And I guess I'd better tell the others we're going to Japan, because if you two think you're leaving us behind you have another thing coming." She nodded to herself, leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

An sat up, glancing over at L.

"What the hell just happened?"

* * *

A/N:  
It's short, I know, but it was hard to even write this much; I hope I start doing better next chapter, which will contain something I've been looking forward to since I first named An: her new alias. Person who guesses what it will be wins… something. You choose, I guess (I reserve the right to refuse any choice you might make, FYI) Here's a clue, if you missed it: It has something to do with her name.

Fern is becoming more of a main character by her own violation; as is Lily. The others will fade into the background with time, I think.

Oh, and , feel free to guess at what Sophie might have seen. I've got bets on how many people will get it _dead wrong_!!

P.S:  
These first two chapters haven't been beta-read, only once overed by me. I'm not desperately searching for a beta reader, but if your interested in helping, feel free to offer.


	3. Act1, Chap3: Justaname

Disclaimer: (today's guest disclaimer reader: Lily)

Hi! Oh, okay, Pyre does not own Death Note or Mister L, who is weird! She does own me and the other OCs (including the dog, who _did_ get mentioned again, and now has a name!). She also doesn't own _The Cat in the Hat_ or _The Grinch who stole Christmas. _But, I kinda wish she did. That would be cool.  
Okay, I love you, bye-bye!

A/N:

Side note: Words in **bold** are said in Russian. Can't find a good translator to save my life... sorry.

Sorry-sorry! I know this took too long to write, and it's not even that long, but this is what happened:  
I wrote the first half and then: holiday time! But, I should really write this story, so… oh, I know! Take some paper with me, write in my spare time. And I did, I wrote four pages of A4, and it was all very good… and then I got back, and I noticed that I'd missed a chunk out; what I'd written before the holiday didn't quite match up with what I wrote while _on_ holiday. So, I sat down to write….

And wouldn't you know, my plot bunnies stayed in Scotland for an extra week and a half!

But, it's finished now. Kinda. There was gonna be a little extra bit on the end, but it was a bit silly and fluffy and I didn't really like it…  
I'm a bit sad; no one even _tried_ to guess what An's new name would be. I even gave you clues! Well, I don't care. If you can tell me why I chose that for her name, I'll give you one of Jack's homemade cookies. There's a huge clue, so you have no excuse not to guess.

Next chapter is an Intermission chapter, i.e. a chapter between acts (there'll be three of these before the story's done). You have a few choices for what you want in your intermission:  
1. A few flashbacks detailing An's involvement (such as it was) with the Kira case so far. Should be amusing, and I'm sure she's got some choice things to say about _certain_ people and occurrences.  
2. A few little scenes from L's time in the safe house. And the little bit that was meant to be in this chapter and wasn't, which involves travelling on public airlines with a pack of freaks.  
3. A tiny one page little drabble that I've already got written (so fast update but no real substance), which is set in the future of his story line (it's a bit of An/L love, very cute!)  
4. A sneak peek at an AU story I'm currently writing; Same characters, but with slight Assassin's Creed (why, you ask? _I don't know.)_ crossover elements, and a very dangerous An.  
5. And other suggestions you might have; Maybe there's some situation you'd like to see dealt with by some of the characters?

Warning: This chapter contains:  
Cookies  
Some out of character sharing  
Mysterious oil (as if you care)  
A _real_ full round of introductions  
Three words in Russian  
Nicknames  
A strange conversation (and a severe upstaging by Rosie)  
May contain nuts.

* * *

The next day, just after the rest of the group had eaten breakfast, Lily came upstairs to see An and L, banging on the bedroom door loudly, as is the way of young children.  
"Hey, hey, Auntie An! It's Lily, can I come in, _please_?" She drew out the last word childishly, making An giggle.  
"Of course you can, sweetie." An smiled as the door was pushed open by a very cheerful Lily coming into the room. Today her hair was not pulled into it's normal messy pigtails, but left loose and long down her back; An sighed.  
"Lily, did you run away before Lucy could put your hair up again?"  
"Yup!" The six year old flopped down on the mattress, grinning up at the ceiling. "I wanted to come ask you something."  
"What?"  
"No, not you, mister L!"  
An had to cover her face with one hand to stop herself snorting with laughter.  
"Hey, monkey?" She leaned over and poked L in the back; he looked up from his game of solitaire, seemingly only just noticing Lily.  
"Good morning, Lily-chan." He said politely, starting to turn back to his game when she squeaked and sat up.  
"No! I came to ask you a question, stupid!" She told him, tugging at the sleeve of his white shirt. He looked down at her silently, deciding that his best option was to simply listen to what this tiny little girl had to say to him. She glared at him, green eyes strangely angry, until he realised she expected him to say something.  
"What was it you wanted to ask?"  
"Are you _really_ the greatest detective in the _world?"_  
The question surprised L somewhat, and he blinked.  
"Yes, I am."  
"Really, really? Because, I still think you're weird, and _I _don't see how a weird person could be a great detective!"  
"Lily!" An scolded, glaring at the girl… but L smiled, ever so slightly.  
"Would you like me to prove it to you, Lily-chan?" He asked, a little bit of challenge in his voice. The little girl grinned from ear to ear, jumping to her feet; however, on the uneven surface of the mattress she very nearly fell over again, wobbling nervously for a brief moment before going back to grinning.  
"Okay!" She chirped, brushing messy hair from her eyes; now it was clear why she kept it tied back so often. "But, how?"  
L was thoughtful for a moment, chewing on his thumb to help him think. Lily scowled at him, but he ignored it, instead trying to find a way to prove to this child that he _was_ intelligent, despite being… weird. He wasn't at all sure why it seemed so important, but he wanted her to believe in him; it was strangely refreshing to be questioned, rather than just accepted. He winced slightly as he bit down on his thumb a little too hard, wishing he had something sugary to eat to aid his thoughts.

As if reading his mind, Lily gave a small squeak of remembrance and pulled a small paper package of cookies from her back pocket, holding them out to him.  
"Jack said these were for you, mister. You like sweet things, right? Sorry, I mighta sat on them…" She had the decency to look slightly ashamed, then brightened up again. "But it shouldn't do no harm." She grinned as he carefully took the package from her with thumb and forefinger; the thumb he removed from his mouth, slightly red from where he'd bitten it. Enlisting the help of his other hand, he managed to unwrap the paper without ever changing his odd grip, placing the three broken cookies down on the desk. He stared at them for a moment, still thinking, only to be shaken from his thoughts when Lily giggled, grabbing one of the biscuits and sitting back down on the mattress. An couldn't hold back her smile as the small girl munched her ill-gotten treat happily, holding it firmly in both hands and taking small bites, like a mouse - and getting crumbs everywhere.

"So," She said through a mouthful of cookie, "How're you planning on proving you're so smart, then?"  
L picked up a cookie for himself, staring intently at the one left over.  
"I don't know." He admitted. "I very rarely have a need to prove myself, and have never needed to convince so young a girl. I'm afraid I am not used to children."  
"Hey!" The little shout sent cookie crumbs all over the mattress, Lily frowning crossly. "I'm not child, I'm a… a… a witch. Yeah."  
"Witches can sometimes be children. The two are not mutually exclusive." L took a bite from his own cookie without looking at it, his eyes still fixed on the sweet on the desk  
"Huh?" Lily put her head on one side. "What does that mean, then?"  
"It means one doesn't cancel out the other." An supplied, knowing full well L wouldn't bother to explain his statement.  
"Oh." Lily had just about finished her cookie, brushing the last of the crumbs onto her tee-shirt - blue today - and flopping backwards onto the mattress again. "You could have just said that."  
"I thought I did." L took a second bite from his cookie, his eyes still fixed in place.  
"Yeah, well. Just 'cause I'm a witch it don't mean I know fancy words. Just, you know, Latin. Hey, Auntie An, your bedroom has a nice ceiling."  
"That's nice, dear." 'Auntie' An replied, not even bothering to look up from her book. In truth, she was listening intently to the conversation, but she didn't want L to know that.

L was, by contrast, only half-listening, his mind preoccupied with what was, for him, a very odd thought. He was wondering, still staring at the desk, if An might like the last cookie. And this was odd. It was odd because he was not the type to share things, especially not sweet things, and definitely not home baked cookies, still slightly warm (although, he decided, that might have been from when Lily sat on them). No, it just wasn't in his nature. In fact, now he was thinking about it, hadn't he let Lily steal the first of the three homemade treats? That wasn't like him, either, although she was just a little girl, and perhaps she didn't know any better. But to think about sharing… perhaps he wasn't quite himself after the year-long sleep.

"Hey, so, is it true we're going to Japan?" Lily asked, now sitting up on the mattress, legs folded under her, her elbows leaning on the edge of the bed as she talked with An. The two girls had noticed L was deep in thought, and decided to ignore him until he snapped out of it. "Where you grew up, An?"  
"Oh, I don't know, Lil' one." An said softly, using the nickname Lily hated with a smile. "Maybe."  
"Fern said we were. Something about you two being stubborn as goats, and then my mother said something in the demon voice. It made my ears hurt, so I didn't listen, like you said. Was that right?"  
"Yeah, Lily, it was." An put down her book, ruffling Lily's hair with one hand. "Well done."  
"I'm a good girl, right?"  
"Sure, sweetie."  
"So, is Japan nice?" The little girl wasn't going to drop the conversation, clearly, and An smiled and nodded.  
"It's a very strange place, compared to everything you've ever known, Lily, but yes. It is nice."  
"Okay!" Lily clambered up onto the bed, sitting down next to An and leaning against the older woman, who wrapped an arm around her young friend's shoulders. "I'm happy that you are better, Auntie An. I was very scared when you got sick." Neither woman saw L tense up slightly, suddenly listening intently to the conversation once more.  
"I wasn't sick, Lily." An sighed softly, brushing a hand over Lily's messy ginger hair fondly. "I was just worried."  
"About _him_?" Lily pulled a face. "But why, An, what's so great about him? He's so weird! He talks funny and he sits funny and he holds things funny, too! And, he never wears any shoes. I noticed. That's weird. And, and… he's got strange eyes, An."  
"Lily, don't be rude." Secretly, An wondered about L's reaction; she knew that he was at least half-listening to them, an ever attentive creature by nature. But, casting a glance his way, he hadn't moved, still staring intently at the last cookie, his own still held awkwardly in thumb and finger. She couldn't help but try to guess what was going through his mind - although she knew she could never understand the way he thought.  
"But he does, An! Don't you feel like he's always staring at you? Well, more like through you. Like, he can see what we're thinking… hey, do you think maybe he can?"  
"No, Lily, L isn't an telepath. He's just… different."  
"Well, _I_ don't like it!" Lily declared, folding her arms. "I don't see how you can trust him. Didn't you say we weren't to trust _anyone_ anymore, or give people our full names?"  
"You told them this, An?" L spoke as suddenly as always, making Lily squeak in surprise and scowl at him. An fought down a blush.  
"With Kira on the rise, I just thought…"  
"I seem to remember you mocking me for my paranoia, An? Did something change?" L finally took another bite of his cookie, the little smile on his face hidden from the other occupants of the room.  
"Huh? What, no, L!" An reverted to the time honoured solution of just shouting at him in disbelief. Did he really think he was funny? "_You_ are still far to paranoid to be human. I'm just being careful." She huffed, only half faking the anger. At the desk, L finally made a decision, finishing the last of his cookie and picking up the remaining sweet, turning in his seat and holding it out to An.  
"I'm sorry, An. Perhaps this will help you to forgive me?" He told her softly, smiling to himself when he saw the surprise on her face.  
"You're giving me a cookie? L, you never share sweets with _anyone_, let alone home made goodies like this…" She reached out and took the treat, hardly noticing Lily giggling next to her.  
"I get it, An." The little girl said, surprising both of the adults. "You like weird people, right? That's why we're all here."  
"Lily, what do you mean?" An frowned.  
"Well, you like people who don't act normal. You think normal people are _stupid_, yeah?" The girl waved a hand abstractly. "You like the strange people, like us. But, you like him more than you like the rest of us, right?"  
"Lily…" An blushed, and L turned back to the desk, continuing with his neglected game of solitaire.  
The little red-head didn't seem worried.  
"Hey, mister L? I believe you, when you say you're a great detective! After all, you're weird!"

* * *

There was an uncomfortable air in the main room as everybody watched L with interest. He was sitting in one of the chairs, balanced as always on his feet, a cup of tea held in one hand in the usual way. When An had called the group together, saying that there was going to be a meeting, they hadn't even considered it might be by request of this strange young man that had become a permanent, tea drinking, sugar eating fixture in their house. The misfit bunch sat in a ragged little half-circle; Jack on the floor with his best friend the dog, Lily, once again upside down in her chair, Sophie resting with her eyes closed, her uneasy younger sister holding her hand, Lucy Bates, still dotted with black oil of some kind, the twins with their identical, faint smiles, and finally… Rosie.

Now out of her little corner, Rosie Dawn was fully visible to the world. She was short, smaller even than the little Lily, but most likely not much younger; her hair was a faded grey colour that might not have been natural, although it was hard to think why it might be dyed. She had blue-grey eyes, darker than An's, with a strange, faraway look in them; she seemed distant, lonely, lost. Seated next to her, his arm around her shoulders protectively and his face set into a scowl, was Andrew.

They sat in uncomfortable silence for a long moment as L stirred sugar into his tea. Finally, Andrew gave a small sound of annoyance, balling his hands into fists.  
"If you've something to say, say it! Don't waste time!" The teen snapped, glaring at the detective, who ignored him completely and continued stirring his tea, before removing the spoon and taking a small sip. An had the thought that he was staying silent just to annoy Andrew… and then decided that that wasn't likely, and ignored it.

"Hey, is this about you two going running off after Kira?" Fern finally asked, bored of the silence. She was gripping Sophie's hand tightly, but trying to act as though she wasn't worried. "Because I still think it's a bad idea, but I know we can't stop you. Right, Jack?"  
"Right. It'd be stupid to try."  
"Oh, and heaven forbid _you_ might do something stupid, Jack." Fern joked without thinking, making Jack glare at her. L took a sip of his tea to hide his smile, a tiny part of his brain wondering if they were always like this.  
"This isn't helping, guys." An said softly, trying her best to get the conversation back to where she needed it to be; Japan. "What happens now?"  
"We go to Japan, right?" Fern remarked flippantly, still hiding behind brave words. "To track down someone who belongs in a nuthouse, oh, and who can kill with a name and a face…" She sighed. "I really, really hate you." She muttered after a moment, not bothering to clarify who she hated.  
"I'm scared." Lily said suddenly. "I don't wanna go anywhere near Kira! He is a killer! He _kills_ people!" She almost fell off her chair in her distress, having to claw her fingers into the arms and pull herself upright for a moment. "And I _am_ a people, which is what he kills! It's kinda scary, don't you think?"  
"Is it?" L spoke for the first time since the little meeting had begun. "I never thought about it in that way; I knew, of course, that I would have to risk my life to catch Kira, but I saw no need in wasting time on fear."  
"Huh? You're weird, Mister L."  
"You have already told me this, Lily-chan." He sipped his tea thoughtfully. "You must be aware that your fear is useless, and discard it."  
"… That sounds hard, but… okay, I'll try. I won't be scared." Lily decided, letting go of the arms of the chair so she could fall back to hanging upside down. "I guess if Auntie An isn't scared, I don't have to be. I'm a witch, too, you know." She looked proud. "I can do _magic._ Kinda."  
On the floor, Jack had been pondering something with a frown on his face. Now Lily's outburst had been resolved, he spoke up.  
"We'll have to go by public airlines to avoid suspicion, right? Don't want this madman to know we're there." He scratched the dog's ears thoughtfully. "Keep a low profile, or at least as much as we can."  
"Jack, did you forget how many of us there are?" Fern shot back, gesturing with one hand at the crowded room. "I assume we won't be leaving anyone behind, which means we'll need, what, ten tickets? Oh, eleven, whatever. We can't pay for that." She gave a defiant nod, as if daring someone to disagree.  
"I can." L took a sip of his tea, then set the cup down on the arm of the chair. "For those of you that wish to accompany us, I can provide money for transport. This is not a problem."  
"Oh." Fern looked a bit annoyed at being proven wrong, but shrugged anyway. "Alright then."

"The way you say that, monkey, you make me that we have another problem, though." An decided with a little smile; it _was_ good to have her friend back to being himself, even if he was annoying Fern.  
"Yes, we do." L agreed, picking up his tea again and staring at it. "Names."  
"Names, mister?" Lily asked, a puzzled look on her upside down face.  
"Names, Lily-chan. As you are all undoubtedly aware, Kira needs a name in order to kill; though his method is as yet unknown, this is a proven fact. While I have no intention of putting any of you in danger," He glanced at An, who glared defiantly back at him, "There is a possibility that you will become involved, and because of this you must not use your real names."  
"So, what… aliases?" Fern asked incredulously. "This sounds like some kind of trashy spy novel, you know that? Where the author's name is in bigger lettering than the title, and there's a picture of a rose and a gun on the cover? The kind you pick up in airports for a tenner, that are always the bestseller for some crappy newspaper somewhere? Oh, if we're all characters in a spy novel, what does that make me, the annoying but necessary one the gets killed in the end?" She became aware of the stares from around the room, and shook her head. "Sorry, I'm done. Do continue."  
"Thank you." L's voice was still in it's normal flat monotone, and yet An got the faintest idea he was amused by Fern's tirade. "You should chose a name that you will be comfortable responding to, but one from which your true name cannot be guessed…"  
"So, nothing like a middle name, then?" Lucy asked, scratching at a spot of oil on her right arm. "Besides, then I'd be Anne, and wouldn't that be as confusing as strong coffee on a Sunday afternoon."

The room went silent for a few moments as people thought, the only sound the happy breathing of the dog, and the faint 'scritch' of Lucy's nails on her skin. Suddenly, Sophie smiled.  
"I don't know about me, but when we were younger our parents sometimes called Fern 'Red'." She said lightly, still smiling. "But you shouldn't ask _me_ why. Would that do?"  
"… Yes, that would be fine." At L's reply, Fern groaned.  
"You're a traitor, Soph! You know I hate that name."  
"Too late, Red!" Lily chirped. "Now that is your name and you are stuck with it. Oh!" She fell off the chair in her excitement, crumpling into a small, red haired heap next to Jack. "Can I be Tails?"  
"Why?" An got to the question before anyone else could, as Jack helped the little girl to untangle herself and sit on the floor beside him. She grinned.  
"I got my reasons."  
"You have your reasons, sweetie. English." Lucy reminded absently, making Lily pout.  
"That's what I _said_! So, can I, mister?" She looked up at L hopefully.  
"Why are you asking me, Tails-chan?" The genius replied with a little smile, making the newly named Tails grin and punch the air in triumph, almost falling over backwards.  
"Yes! Thank you!"

Coreen had been waiting until the room was silent, and now spoke up in her heavily accented English, pausing sometimes between words to work out what she was saying.  
"Why should Lue not be Layn?" She realised the statement wouldn't make sense to an outsider, and waved a hand abstractly. "Layn is her** Demon**. Her… demon?"  
"Lucy?" An asked, glancing over at the young woman, who looked up.  
"Oh, _she_ gets asked." Red muttered, but Lucy nodded.  
"Sure, I don't see why not. Layn herself says she couldn't care less… and also something about humans that I'd rather not repeat…" She gave a watery smile that was matched by the older members of the safe-house, and a little shrug, going back to scratching at her arm.

By this time, Tails had scampered over the floor to the sofa, leaning her elbows on the edge and smiling at the twins.  
"Why don't you two use your nicknames? Wouldn't _that_ be a good plan, huh?" She chirped cheerfully. Joseph nodded.  
"**Yes**. We do not mind." He spoke for his sister as well as himself, a ghost of a smile on his face. Red grinned despite herself.  
"Thing One and Thing Two? Don't you think that's a little… odd?"  
"No more than Red, or Tails." The young boy nodded in L's direction. "Or L. I shall be Thing One, then, as always… or perhaps simply One, for short. **Yes**?"  
"Yes. Although I will admit to being curious as to where such names came from…" L tried to sip his tea, only to find that the cup was almost empty. He sighed to himself, leaning his head back and holding the cup upside down over his mouth to catch the last few drops, making An grin. The detective set down his cup and glanced around the room, waiting for an answer to his question. Surprisingly, it was Andrew who answered.  
"_The Cat in the Hat_. It's just a stupid kids book, but there are these characters, identical… things. They're called, and you'd never guess this, Thing One and Thing Two." The youth rolled his eyes. "Idiotic, don't you think?"  
"I think they were Whos." Tails murmured. Andrew frowned at her.  
"Whats?"  
"Whos. From Whoville. You know, in _The Grinch that stole Christmas_? 'And all the Whos in Whoville…'" She trailed off. "I forget the rest."  
"I see." L picked up his now empty tea-cup, staring at it. "One and Two, then."

And smiled to herself and shook her head.  
"Red, Tails, Layn, One and Two, eh? We must sound like a bunch of freaks…"  
"You're telling me…" Red complained, still annoyed about her nickname.  
"In any case, Jack can be _his_ old nickname, right?" An continued as though Red hadn't spoken.  
"No." Jack suddenly sat up straighter, frowning deeply.  
"Oh, why not, it's an established name that I know you'll answer to…"  
"But I'll sound like a wannabe witch from you old coven!" Jack whined uselessly, not caring that he sounded like a child.  
"What name is this, Jack?" Red teased lightly, glad she wasn't the only one with a bad nickname. Jack groaned, giving in.  
"People used to call me Ghost, okay? Because I tend to fade into the background?" He sighed.  
"Aw, Jacky, that's just so…. Lame!" Red laughed, shaking her head. "I feel so much better about being Red now, thank you, Ghost."  
Ghost sighed, scratching his dog behind the ears and leaning in to whisper to the animal:  
"Feel like killing Red for me, Hound?" The dog gave a happy sigh and rolled over onto his side lazily. "I'll take that as a no, shall I then?"  
"Doesn't that just leave Soph?" Tails questioned from her new spot on the floor in front of the twins. In his seat, Andrew scowled and said nothing.  
"I don't know…" Sophie blinked her unseeing eyes, hanging her head slightly as though staring at her hands. "I'm sorry, I just can't think of anything."  
"Delphi." Red said suddenly. "The oracle at Delphi was blind." She was aware of the stares from the rest of the group, and shrugged. "I did a course on mythology once." She told them defensively. "You don't get to judge me."

While the others had been talking, Rosie had been thinking deeply, her little face passive and blank. As Red and Jack traded insults over this newest revelation, she leaned over and whispered something in Andrew's ear.  
"But, Rosie…?" His words distracted the rest of the group from the bickering, even Red shutting up for a moment to look at him. Rosie whispered something else, and Andrew nodded.  
"She says that she'll be Eve." he told the group. "And that I'm Cain. I don't see anything wrong with that."  
"Bible names?" An mused. "But Cain was…"  
"Does it matter?" Andrew snapped, well aware of what the name implied. "It's just a name."  
"No such thing." 'Eve' muttered, just loud enough for the others to hear. "No such thing as just-a-name, names define and names change, names… are never just a name." She paused, moving away from Andrew's protective arm and looking across the room at L, who returned the stare. "No such thing, don't you agree?"  
"… Perhaps." He replied thoughtfully. "It would depend on the name."  
Eve seemed satisfied with the answer, nodding lightly.  
"Everything depends on the name. Did you know? Maybe you did…" She didn't seem to be talking to the group anymore. "Only An left, but you already know what her name will be, you can just tell; it is her name, her real name under the words, you found hers as long ago you found your own…" The tiny girl smiled a wistful smile. "You already know, don't you, L? I can see the way you think."  
"… Yes. I know."

An shifted uncomfortably.  
"What does she mean, my real name?" She asked, breaking the little woven spell of silence, and causing Eve to retreat back into her own world, Cain placing his arm back over her shoulder as if nothing had happened. "L?"  
"Wolf, I think." He decided, glancing at his friend. "Yes. It suits you, Wolf."  
"Wolf?" Tails screwed up her nose. "Like, the Latin?"

Wolf laughed, knowing that she should never have doubted him.  
"You really think it suits me, little monkey?" She asked, still smiling. "Wolf. I like it."

* * *

A/N:

And that was the last of Act 1: Resurrection. What did we all think?  
After the Intermission we'll be jumping into the hard part (for me, anyway), so updates won't come quickly. This is, after all, my first multi-chapter fan fic, and I think those plot bunnies of mine suffer from the wanderlust. Those wacky bunnies, eh? In any case, the next chapter _shouldn't_ take too long, but know me… it might. I'll say sorry in advance.

Hmm… what else… well, if you want the names explained, feel free to ask… if enough people are interested, I'll explain at the end of the Intermission. If no one cares, I won't bother.  
By the way, about that AU Assassin's Creed thing… how many people want me to start posting that as a second story? It's a bit convoluted and confusing, and not really that well written (I don't think, my Ditz tells me it's _fine_), but I'll post it if you want it. It's still a Death Note fic, just with assassins…

Um, that's it… one of these days my A/Ns are gonna be longer than the story… well, Pyre, signing off.

P.S:  
'As confusing as strong coffee on a Sunday afternoon'.

No, I don't know either, okay?


	4. Intermission: Incidents That Made Us

Disclaimer: (guest disclaimer reader: Rosie, a.k.a Eve)

Pyre wanted me to tell you that she does not own Death Note or any of it's characters that may appear in this chapter. She also wanted me to make a witty comment, but I will not.

A/N:

Sorry-sorry! This is getting to be a habit, not writing updates so fast… I'm so sorry!  
However, I did wait a week to see what people wanted from their intermission… and received no suggestions at all. Sad face. I am for sad now.

In any case, here we have some flashbacks from the investigation already passed, and a little link to the next chapter (which may take a long time to get written, because first I have to plan it out.)

Still wondering if I should start posting my DN/Assassin's Creed fic (not as crazy as it sounds), so if anyone could let me know what they think about that… I have the first seven (I think, can't be bothered to go check) chapters already written, so…

In any case. As always, this hasn't been beta-read, but it also hasn't been self-checked as often as the past few chapters, so there may be some mistakes.

And… away!

* * *

_An looked around her; her mind had already adjusted to the change in scenery, slipping back into the second language of her youth with no real trouble. And so the signs around her were bright and cluttered, but not unreadable, and this small fact gave her some comfort. She had lived in this country of bright lights and crowded streets for eight years, and it was still her second home._

_  
Finding a somewhat quiet corner, she pulled out her mobile phone and keyed in three on the speed dial, and tapped her foot in time to the three rings before the phone was answered, a little smile on her face._

"_Hai?"_

_The answer on the other end proved she wasn't the only one who'd adapted to the language, but she wasn't in the least surprised._

"_It's me, Watari." She said in fluent Japanese, looking around her to make sure no one was listening._

"_Annie?"_

_An winced. Oh how she hated, hated that name._

"_It's An, old man."_

"_I was wondering when you would appear." She could hear the little smile in her friend's voice, and smiled herself._

"_Oh really? Can I ask why?"_

"_Well, the method of killing appears to be supernatural…"_

"_And that's my area of expertise, yeah. So, why wasn't I called? I had to come of my own accord, and you are lucky I've still got connections or I wouldn't even be here…" She sighed. "What the hell is he thinking, old friend? He needs my help, so why won't he ask?"_

"_I'm afraid you'd have to ask him, Annie."_

"_It's An. And yeah, I will, won't I? Where are you?"_

* * *

"_You are in so much trouble, young man."_

"_An." L sipped his tea, not bothering with a proper greeting. "I expected you would come, although not this soon…"_

"_Are you insane, monkey?" Her voice was serious as she sat down opposite him. "Or are you just trying to drive _me_ insane? Because if that's the case…"_

"_I assure you, I would never wish An any harm, physical or psychological."_

"_Then don't do this. Don't do things like this, L, I… you really scared me. I was worried about you."_

"_There is no need to worry, An." He sipped his tea again, making her scowl, only half playfully. "Kira needs both a name and a face in order to kill."_

"_So you're the safest person on the planet right now." She smiled. "Good to know."_

"_Yes. So, please don't worry. I am perfectly safe."_

"_Okay, okay… but, why didn't you call me? This Kira obviously kills through a supernatural medium, so why…"_

"_It isn't safe." He told her simply, and she frowned in confusion._

"_It's never _safe_, L, we both know that. When has anything ever been safe? When has it ever been _about_ being safe?" She sighed lightly, shaking her head. "I know you've always tried to keep me out of the real danger, but…"_

"_I will not involve you in this investigation, An."_

"_Because it isn't safe? L, I want to help. Please let me." She leaned forward in her seat to look him in the eye, hoping that some how she could change his mind._

"_No." His voice was flat and final, and An sighed heavily, standing from her seat and glancing towards the door, knowing it was pointless to push him any further. On this, then, he wouldn't budge._

"_Fine. But I'm not leaving, L. I won't leave you to fight this alone. I'll be close by, if you ever change that stubborn mind of yours."_

* * *

"_Hey."_

_She smiled at her friend, who was focused on his work, entering the room with a little sigh. He didn't look up or acknowledge her, but she knew he was aware she was there. "L, I wanted to talk to you. About… well, I heard about the FBI agents, and I know you think it's your fault -"_

"_It is my fault, An."_

"_You hate it when people interrupt you." She told him playfully, smiling to herself._

"_Sorry. Please, continue."_

"_Right. I can't convince you it isn't your fault, you're far too stubborn, but… Watari said you were planning on trusting the taskforce, the police. That you were going to let them come here…"_

"_If I do not show willing to work with them, I am sure the police will not longer be interested in co-operating."_

"_That would be bad…" An conceded, not liking where this conversation was headed. "But -"_

"_It is for this reason that I will be trusting the few men who have remained on the taskforce for this investigation."_

"_And risking your life in doing so."_

"_Yes."_

"_I don't like that plan." It was hard to keep herself calm and controlled, but she just about managed it._

"_I assumed that you wouldn't."_

"_Well, you assumed correctly. I don't suppose I can stop you or change your mind?"_

"_No."_

"_L, you…" She sighed lightly. "I'll stay, then. I'll help."_

_  
He looked up at her for the first time since she'd entered the room, a little concern and sadness on his normally emotionless face._

"_No, An. I will not allow you to put your life in danger."_

"_It's my life!"_

"_The risk would be unnecessary, and as such I will not let you take it."_

_An balled her hands into fists, forcing herself to calm down, to not get angry with him; he did have a point, after all._

"_I want to help you."_

"_I understand this, An, but you will hardly help me by causing me to worry."_

_  
She sighed._

"_But… _I'll_ worry." She muttered lamely. _

"_There is no reason to do so."_

"_That's not so helpful, monkey. I can't help but worry."_

"_Sorry."_

_  
The pair of them sat in silence for a long moment, almost as though the argument was over._

"_Why can't I help?" An demanded suddenly, folding her arms in defiance. "I'll be careful."_

"_It is far too dangerous, An, and I won't allow it." L seemed determined to stick to his original argument, which was fairly typical of him. There was another moment of silence as An fought against her anger._

"_Danger is where danger is sought." She finally said, softly enough that she could have been speaking only to herself. "I know someone who says things like that. She means that if you start looking for danger, you'll see it everywhere, because everything is dangerous. You see?"_

"_Yes, I understand. But I don't agree. Some things are more dangerous than others, and this is one of the most dangerous things. Please, don't argue anymore, An."_

_  
An sighed heavily, well aware that the argument was lost, and that her friend was far too stubborn._

"_If you get yourself killed," She started, shaking her head to herself as he turned back to his computer. "Well, then… I'll never forgive you."_

_L picked up the cup of tea that was resting next to his keyboard, sipping it thoughtfully._

"_Such a thing would, of course, be terrible. I will be careful, An."_

"_Good."_

* * *

_Out of the room's three occupants, only one was still awake, staring intently at a computer screen as always, the ever present cup of tea about half full beside him. The two members of the taskforce had drifted off into dreamland as the night had gone on; not surprising, really, seeing as between them they'd had maybe four hours sleep in the past three days. With a little smile to herself, An pushed open the door as quietly as she could, creeping into the room._

"_An. I wondered if you would appear." L hadn't looked up, so An was at a lost as to how he knew she was there; still, she crossed the room to sit in the empty chair next to him, moving it a little further away so that she wouldn't be too close. She cast one last glance around the room, then smiled again._

"_These guys are surprisingly dedicated, aren't they? You'd think they'd take time off to sleep, rather than working until they all pass out from exhaustion…" She didn't wait for any answer, knowing that in all likelihood, she wouldn't get one. "How are you, monkey?"_

"_I'm fine. How is An?"_

"_An is good." An joked lightly. "A bit worried, and slightly tired… and, my friends keep phoning up to ask me where I am, but I'm good. Oh, and I bring cake." She pulled a plastic tub out of her bag; inside was a large piece of homemade chocolate cake. With a grin, she placed it on the table. "It might be a bit stale, I'll warn you, but, you know, cake. Always good."_

"_Thank you." It was clear L was not focusing on the conversation, but rather on some other problem._

"_What's wrong, monkey?" Nervously, An placed a comforting hand on his arm for a moment, not really knowing what to do. She hated worrying about him, but he was so stubborn about things, and it was difficult not to worry, most of the time._

"_Tell me, An, may I trust you to be honest with me?"_

"_Of course. We're friends, right? So, it's my job to tell you the truth."_

_There was a pause, and An waited for her friend to speak._

"_Am I doing the right thing?"_

_  
An looked at the screens in front of them, and the scenes of the three captives, two willing one… not so. She sighed._

"_I don't know. I want to believe that you are, monkey, you that. I trust you, I trust your judgement, but this… I really have to wonder. Can we really say that the ends justify the means?" She shrugged lightly. "I'm really not so helpful, huh?"_

"_In fact, An is always most helpful."_

"_Liar." An joked lightly, smiling. "But, anyway, does it really matter what I think? You're the genius, monkey, and compared to you I'm nothing more than a half-wit, so…"_

"_Please don't say such things. You are far from stupid, An."_

"_Well, you're my friend, so you would say that." She replied stubbornly, not willing to except his words as being true._

"_As your friend, An, it is my job to tell you the truth." _

"_That's not…" An trailed off uselessly. "You can't… oh, what's the point." She kicked the floor with one foot, rather childishly. "I hate you, sometimes."_

"_Whereas I am quite fond of An all of the time." L picked up his tea cup and focused back on the screens, a sure sign that the conversation was over. "However, it would be best if you leave now. I am still unwilling to include you in this investigation, as I am sure you are aware."_

"_Well, I may be an idiot, but I'm an idiot that knows you very well, little monkey." An stood, pulling her hair band tight around her pony tail out of habit, and shaking her head with a little sigh. "Please be careful, L."_

"_I'm always careful."_

"_Yes, but… never mind."_

* * *

_It felt like forever since the last time they'd spoken, back when Light and Misa had been held prisoner, and there had been time to talk once the nights took their toll on the taskforce members; but now there wasn't any time that she could speak to L on his own, and that meant that An couldn't speak to him at all. She wasted a lot of her contract phone minutes talking to Watari about what was going on, and sometimes even snuck in to sit with the older man and watch the screens showing the camera feeds; not only did that make her feel like a bizarre 'Big Brother' type person, it didn't help her feel less worried; if anything, her concern was the worse for it. There were only two reasons she kept doing so: to keep an eye on her strange friend, despite how odd it made her feel, and to keep tabs on the progress of the investigation; and also to talk to Watari about silly things, like the latest TV shows, or books they'd read, or An's confusing little family back in England. It felt nice to have a normal conversation with someone, even if that someone wasn't entirely normal._

_  
Over the course of the weeks, she became increasingly adept at sneaking into the high-security building without getting caught; because she had the chance to practice, she learned every one of the few tiny flaws in the system. It became a sort of game, to see if she could get to the observation room without being seen by the clever old man that watched the cameras in there; and after a month or so, nine times out of ten, she could._

"_Good morning, Annie."_

_It was one of the rare times she did get seen, apparently, because there was an extra chair already pulled up next to the monitors, and a mug of hot chocolate waiting on the side for her._

"_Old man, you are a godsend. But don't call me Annie." She settled in the chair, curling her hands around the warm cup and smiling happily. "It's cold out there, today."_

"_Maybe if you wore a coat…?"_

"_Coat are for wimps, Watari! Oh, and you, of course. You aren't a wimp. Sorry." She took a tentative sip of her chocolate to test the temperature, and also to force herself to end the terrible, disjointed apology. "What's going on today? Anything fun and exciting?" She smiled. "Or just another boring day of childish arguments and trawling through data, because in that case…"_

"_No signs of a brilliant breakthrough, I'm afraid, Annie. Did your family call last night?"_

"_Hmm, yeah." The hot chocolate was far too hot to drink, so An just let the warmth flow through her hands instead, breathing in the warm fumes. "They're still demanding to know where I disappeared to, but…"_

"_Maybe you should tell them, then."_

"_No way. They'd make me go home, old man, and I want to stay."_

"_Still, they _are_ your family."_

"_Adopted. Not real family, Watari, and besides, you guys are my family too. Just… different. Can't imagine living with L, though. We'd drive each other insane, I swear it."_

"_Oh, I don't know." Watari smiled slightly, never one for overt expressions. "I think he rather likes having you around."_

_An snorted._

"_Yeah, right." She said, sarcastically. "And I'm the Queen of England. I know I'm annoying, Watari, that's the point. Someone has to argue with him once in a while."_

"_And that's why he enjoys you being here." There was an air of finality and wisdom about the old man's words. "He's always liked a good challenge."_

"_Yeah, I guess…" She took a drink of her cooling chocolate, and sighed lightly. "I kind of miss him. Talking to him."_

"_If I'm being perfectly honest, Annie, I think he misses you, as well. He's been rather short-tempered, of late."_

"_That's just because he's frustrated about this case, Watari, it's got nothing to do with me. I'm sure he couldn't care less." In her heart, perhaps, An knew that wasn't quite true; still, she couldn't believe that he really missed her that much._

"_Well, you can believe what you wish."_

_  
They sat in comfortable silence for a moment as An drank her chocolate, finishing the sweet drink with a contented sigh and setting down the mug._

"_You really think he cares that much?"_

_Watari chuckled; in the years he'd known An, he'd never seen her behave so much like the young woman she actually was. It was almost as if she were slightly insecure; and about a boy, no less. At his apparent amusement, An scowled._

"_I don't see what's so funny." She muttered, only really mock-angry._

"_Oh, it's nothing. And he does care, of course, Annie."_

"_I guess. I wish he'd let me help him, though." She sighed lightly, looking up at the screens, a tiny smile coming to her face as she spotted L, staring almost blankly at a computer screen, a cup of tea and a piece of cake set on the desk next to his keyboard. "But he says it's too dangerous."_

"_Well, I happen to agree." Watari admitted, patting his young friend on the shoulder. "We're only trying to protect you."_

"_Because you care?" An asked with a smirk and a small shake of her head._

"_Precisely."_

* * *

"_A notebook that kills people?" An sounded somewhat sceptical; she was sitting again in the room full of screens, each displaying their own camera feed, with a cup of tea sitting next to her, untouched (and most certainly not with sugar in). Even now that Light wasn't chained to L 24/7, it was still hard to find one genius without the other, and so An was still unable to speak to her friend. It was mostly because of this she was feeling slightly uncooperative, and sarcastic; on any normal day, she probably would have believed Watari's explanation of a 'Death Note'. As it was, she was not so convinced. "I'm a witch, and I don't believe that."_

"_Whatever you believe, Annie, that fact remains quite true. This Death Note is Kira's weapon."_

"_How does it work?" The young woman demanded, rather forcefully for her. Watari chuckled lightly._

"_You'd have to ask someone else, I'm afraid. The Shinigami, for instance."_

"_I don't believe in Shinigami." An told him firmly, drinking a mouthful of her tea. "They're a pointless myth."_

"_I'm surprised at you, Annie. I would have though that you, of all people, would be open to any idea?"_

"_Not this one. And even if it is true, I don't believe it, and that's what counts. Belief is very important in magic, you know." She sounded very sure of herself, which seemed to be a source of amusement to her old friend, who chuckled again._

"_I'm sure it is." He told her, patting her shoulder in an attempt to cool her apparent anger._

"_No, it is. See, that's the important thing. That's why I can't believe in Shinigami." She nodded to herself. "If I do, it won't work like it should."_

"_What won't?"_

"_If I don't believe in it, it can't hurt him." An's reply was light, seemingly carefree, but there was a slight hitch to her words that betrayed her underlying fear. "The spell, it wasn't made to hide anything from a death god, so they can't exist, or the spell wouldn't hold, and… all you need to kill with a Death Note is a name, so they can't know his." She drank down another gulp of tea, mostly to stop herself from talking. "So… I don't believe in Shinigami."_

"_I…" Watari was stunned by this outburst from his young companion; oh, her concern for L had always be painfully clear, but for her to actually voice it… "I see. You seem to have thought this through."_

"_Of course." She smiled, finishing the last of her drink. "If I'm going to do one thing right in my entire life, it's this. There's too much at stake for me to fail." She stood up and stretched. "I should get back. Don't want to distract you from your very important job of staring at cameras." _

_  
She gave the older man a brief hug - she didn't know it, but this was to be the last time she'd ever hug her good friend, or share a warm drink and a story with him on a cold day when she'd nothing to do but worry. But at the time, she merely grabbed her jacket from the back of a chair, kissed Watari on the cheek lightly, out of habit picked up from weeks of cheerful goodbyes, and wandered off back out into the cold of the late autumn evening, hurrying back to a little rented apartment and a book to read before bed._

* * *

_She slipped into the room, silent, unseen, and shaking like a leaf. This was the main room, the room that she'd seen so many times on a lifeless screen and had never entered until this moment; a room that had always been the focus of her out-of-the-corner-of-her-eye watching of the camera feeds, because _he_ was always in this one room, working on something, eyes glued to a computer screen. And now she was here, and she had to stay hidden from the room's one other conscious occupant, and it wasn't fair on her to ask her to do this… a hundred and one thoughts reeled through An's head as she watched the restless 'guard', pacing back and forth, clearly distraught. She forced herself to feel nothing, to be calm… took the two steps she needed to step behind the man, and easily drew back her fist, punching him squarely in the head, and knocking him out, cleanly; when he awoke, he'd have the mother of all headaches, and a lot of explaining to do, but there wouldn't be any lasting harm._

_  
This, she realised, was the part that filled her with dread, as she padded her way (barefoot, she hadn't had time to put on shoes on her dash to get here, she was barefoot, just like him) across the floor; everything else, phoning Watari to find no answer, having to sneak in through her own little tricks, finding the body of her dear, dear old friend in the observation room with the screens still showing endless camera feeds with no one left to watch them… these things had pained her, horrified her, and yet she had been numb to them. But this…_

_  
There was a sofa in the large room, not quite in the centre, but close; someone had thought place the body on it, as though sleeping, but… no, because he never slept. An spared a small moment to rub tears from her eyes, and crouched down before the sofa, touching a nervous, hesitant hand to a pale cheek, not feeling any warmth or…_

"_Oh, goddess…" She whispered, to herself, and wished for the first time ever that Fern's possum potion wasn't so convincing. "L." She managed to force a smile to her face as she pushed herself back to her feet and gathered the detective's lanky form in her arms. "If you die, my little genius, I'll never forgive you." She muttered lightly, before slipping back out, into the world that suddenly seemed so hostile, with her greatest ally half-dead in her arms._

* * *

Wolf was jolted out of her memories by a happy squeak from Tails, indicating something - _anything_, really - was happening behind her. The young woman wiped a stray tear from her face, and ignored the concerned look Ghost gave her across the aisle, looking behind her to see what had got her six-year-old friend so excited.

"Airplane food. Wonderful." Layn sounded thoroughly disgusted, but Tails looked as cheerful as ever, grinning from ear to ear; Wolf allowed herself a small chuckle, shaking her head, and stretching.

"Heads up, monkey, someone's coming." She poked L lightly in the side to get his attention; though she'd never been comfortable even so much as sitting close to him, she'd always been perfectly willing to prod him out of his thoughts when he wasn't listening to her. "Sit like a normal person, or we'll get another lecture."

Beside her, L gave a tiny sigh, and forced himself to lower his feet to the floor; he'd pulled off his shoes the very moment he'd sat down, but the flight attendants were completely unwilling to allow him to sit as he usually did, which meant a sort of covert plan had been set up: the excitable Tails would squeak in pretend surprise every time a figure of authority passed her, two rows back, which would give Wolf ample time to check the disturbance and warn her friend. This arrangement was very annoying for poor Cain, who was sitting direct behind Wolf, and in front of Tails and Layn, Eve at his side; but the little telepath had hushed his protests, and so he was sulking silently.

In front of Wolf were the twins, One and Two, who were muttering to each other in their native Russian, the language tripping easily from their tongues. Across the aisle, in the middle row, sat Ghost, Red, and Delphi, the blind woman sitting between her sister and friend. The three of them were having a conversation about some TV program or another, and for a while, at least, they were just another slightly abnormal family. Wolf, despite herself, was pleased that the rest of the group had chosen to come with them to Japan, even as she worried for them; it was nice to be able to share at least a little of her childhood with her friends.

After the in-flight meal had been delivered (L's untouched food was shared out between Things One and Two, Ghost, and, rather surprisingly, a wide-eyed Eve), and the detective had retreated back into his own little world, Wolf sighed to herself, more contentedly than anything else. But, she told herself with a sake of her head, she had plans to make.

"Monkey?" She didn't poke him this time, hoping to sake him out of his thoughts by words alone.

"Yes, Wolf?"

"When we get there… then what? We don't even have anywhere to stay, unless… we could use the headquarters, I guess… it's certainly big enough for us all."

"Yes, these were my thoughts also."

"Okay. Great." Wolf drummed her fingers against the seat in front of her for a moment, unsure of what else to say. "L… oh, I guess we should call you Ryuzaki, now, right?"

"If you would, yes."

"Well, Ryuzaki… I guess I'm a little worried, about…"

"You are concerned for your family. I understand, Wolf. I cannot promise you they will be kept from harm; I will, however, promise you I will not allow them to be placed in danger."

"That's comforting." Wolf said softly; and she meant it, too. "I was just thinking about… well, we already lost one dear friend to Kira, I don't want to lose any more."

"I understand."

"Could you two be any more annoying?" Cain shot crossly from behind them, making Wolf giggle, losing all seriousness.

"Well sure, Cain. I'm sure we could be very annoying if we wanted to, right, monkey?"

"I will have no part in this."

"Aw, but…" She pouted, putting on her best cute puppy eyes face; this didn't achieve anything, perhaps in part because L wasn't actually looking at her at the time.

She was half aware of the odd stares her group started to gather from the other passengers on the plane, as banter began to pass between Cain and Ghost, Ghost and Red, Red and Delphi, Delphi and One and Two, One and Two and Wolf, Wolf and Cain… With Eve clammed up and quiet, and Layn and Tails adding in their own comments whenever the argument got as far back as them. L was sitting silent next to her, but she knew him too well; the relaxed way he held himself, and the tiny smile that kept curling the edges of his lips, showed he was actually rather enjoying the talk that surrounded him, and in some small part of her mind, she rejoiced at the fact her family was together, and normal, and for the moment, there was no bad things in her world.

At least, for now, that was what she could finally let herself pretend.

* * *

A/N

Tried something new with the formatting: I, for one, _hate_ the double spaces you get between dialogue, but apparently it makes it hard to read, so… tell me what you think (although, if past chapters have been any indication, you _won't_ tell me).

That was our first intermission, folks, and I, for one, enjoyed it. I just got into the swing of writing a fatherly sort of persona for Watari and then bang, he's dead. Ah, well. 'Tis life, in all it's hardships.

Next: Act Two: Reaction.

And what a Reaction it shall turn out to be. ;)


	5. Author Note: Sorry, sorry!

A/N, I'm afraid.

To anyone still waiting for this story to continue – which I estimate to be no one – I have to offer an apology.

I'm stuck.

I've always suffered from pretty bad writers block, but this is just silly. I'm sure I'll get this finished _someday, _but it doesn't look like that someday will be any day soon. And I'm sorry about that. I was enjoying this story, after all, but sometimes, when you're stuck, you're stuck, and you just have to wait for the inevitable flash of inspiration which does not seem forthcoming.

Though I am collecting the Death Note episodes on DVD, so perhaps when I get to the point where L dies....

In any case, I'm sorry it's taking so long. I did want to ask: I'm writing another story, which I don't have quite so much trouble with, WB wise, so, I wondered if you might like me to start posting that. I've got the first nineteen chapters already written, and though I'm not sure I'm happy with them, I can always go back and do a re-write later. It's a sort of AU-ish thing, with our dear little Wolf as a fearsome and scary assassin... well, she's an assassin, at least.

So, if you think I should start putting that story up here on , do tell me, and I'll do so. But if no one is going to read it, I shan't bother until I'm happy it's finished... which, considering how far in I am, and how much I have left to write, could easily be years. Just a warning,

Again, sorry about the delays. Oh, and if anyone finds my muse for this story? Don't approach, she bites; just... tell me where she is, and I'll bring the net.

Pyre.


End file.
